Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Will Pay $145K After Claiming Benefits of Vaginal Eggs
Gwyneth Paltrow Image by Getty Images
The great war over whether or not women should shove egg-shaped items into their vaginas for health benefits rages on, with Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle company Goop retreating from battle after losing a lawsuit that said Goop made scientifically unsubstantiated claims about the vagina eggs, as well as a tincture of essential oils.
Goop settled for $145,000 as well as refund purchases of jade eggs and rose quartz eggs ($66 and $55 respectively,) and the tincture, Inner Judge Flower Essence Blend ($22). The company will continue to sell the items, but will stop making claims about the products’ health benefits.
Bloomberg reports that Goop had been claiming that the eggs “balance hormones, regulate menstrual cycles and increase bladder control” and that the floral tincture helped prevent depression.
Lawyers for Goop argued that claims about the product were not false, but that the company would prefer to settle the issue quickly. Now the description on Goop’s website of the rose quartz egg reads: “Made of heart-activating rose quartz—associated with positive energy and love—this yoni egg is associated with the heart chakra.” The egg, though no longer advertised as having health benefits, still costs $55. Half ounce bottles of the flower tincture still claim to “assist with clearing guilt, shame, self-criticism, and blame” (which is useful if you just settled a lawsuit claiming that your expensive products alleviate serious medical issues.) However, the flower tincture is currently sold out.
It’s a true lesson for all of us: Just as we sometimes must pass a delicious-smelling fast food joint and tell ourselves, “There’s food at home,” we also sometimes must pass a jade egg and tell ourselves, “My reproductive system came stocked with eggs for free.”
Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
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