Gwyneth Paltrow’s Israel advert is sickening and completely tone-deaf, says Sharan Dhaliwal, freelance editor and writer. Published June 12, 2026.
A Controversial Advertisement
'There’s a reason why the world’s most iconic buildings are by a park,' Gwyneth Paltrow said knowingly to the camera, as she walked out of a luxury New York building towards her car. Appearing in a new advert circulating on social media, I happily started watching the Hollywood actress on my phone without glancing at any captions. It began with her in bed saying: 'waking up for a morning run can be brutal,' followed by her running in Central Park, before swapping her sweats for a suit and heading out. '51 Park,' she directed her driver. 'New York?' he asked, to which she replied with a smile: 'No, Herzliya, Israel.' I stared at my screen unblinking, wondering if I had heard correctly. I re-watched the advert, moving the phone closer, straining as if expecting different words. I was then subjected to 3D renderings of the towering real estate development, called 51Park, that Paltrow was promoting. In Israel. I was filled with shock.
Tone-Deaf Promotion
Promoting a scheme in this country couldn’t be more tone-deaf. A mere hour away from this real estate project, Gaza is still enduring attacks in the Israel and Palestine war that has been ongoing for three years. Actually, it’s been going since 1948, when the state of Israel was founded in what was then British-mandated Palestine. Gwyneth Paltrow is promoting 51 Park, a luxury housing project on the Herzliya seafront built on stolen land. The site was once the Palestinian village of al-Haram, whose residents were displaced during the 1948 war. The project is being built on land stolen from Palestinians. It feels absurd to say this: but no one should be telling people to buy real estate so close to where others are dying, and the Oscar-winning actress has shown just how tone-deaf she is.
History of Controversy
This isn’t Gwyneth’s first dalliance into controversy. It must be nice to have enough fame, money, and success to be insulated from how bad your business decisions look to the average person. Missy on X covered my thoughts exactly: 'Rich people being so greedy even when they can already get everything they want, but they want more so they’re willing to sell their soul for it.' Paltrow’s fall into controversy started with Goop. In 2008, she founded a wellness and lifestyle brand peddling 'new age' advice, like 'eliminate white foods' instead of suggesting healthier alternatives. She received backlash from NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens in 2020 for a Netflix show boosting alternative therapies for physical and mental illnesses. He slammed the show for 'spreading misinformation.' In the show, she talked about 'energy exorcisms' and 'vampire facials' designed to cure psychological trauma, which Stevens called 'dodgy procedures.'
Public Reaction
By this point, I found anything she did as ridiculous and pseudo-scientific, agreeing wholeheartedly with the NHS executive. As someone who thinks being healthy involves doing what makes you happy, I find her brand of wellness potentially harmful. I wrote her off as a silly person, wholly unserious. Her inane obsession with health and eating aside, Gwyneth is a millionaire who clearly hasn’t given much thought to what she endorses. Over the years, Paltrow has built a venture portfolio as an angel investor, backing startups like cannabis-infused beverage maker Cann and serving as an advisory board member for companies like Orange Comet. She also appeared as an investor on Shark Tank, negotiating a $400,000 deal with breastmilk logistics startup Milkify. Money doesn’t seem to be an issue for her, so I’m curious why she struck this deal with an Israeli real estate developer in an active warzone. But maybe with money comes ignorance.
Backlash and Disgust
This is why perhaps her advert should not come as a shock, but it should definitely garner the disgust it has. Appearing in an advert for real estate in a place experiencing war is an absolutely disgusting thing to do. She seems so unaware of what she’s doing, but surely she knows what’s happening in the world. Surely someone has told her there’s a war going on. Multiple, in fact. The backlash has been immediate, with some people referring to her as 'Gwynocide Paltrow.' Maybe it’s telling that Gwyneth hasn’t shared the advert herself or spoken about it since its release. But in my opinion, maybe millionaires like her simply don’t concern themselves with the results of war, just what they can profit from. It feels like she only cares about her money and the next thing she can 'goopify,' while everything around her crashes and burns.
