Gwyneth Paltrow’s Vanity Fair demands couldn’t have been matched by North Korea’s Kim Jong-un says its editor.
Talking in his March issue editor’s letter, Graydon Carter has addressed the rumours surrounding the supposed fall out between the publication and actress over a planned piece about her.
Stating that the original idea came about because “people tend to have passionate opinions on the actress,” he explained how things quickly turned sour.
“What began so innocently quickly took a turn, however. Once the story was assigned, the writer reached out to Paltrow’s representatives and friends, and Paltrow sent the now-infamous email to her show-business pals.
“She asked that they not speak to Vanity Fair about her, or about anything else ever again. Ever. Never. Kim Jong-un couldn’t have issued a more blanket demand,” writes Graydon.
After the demand was made public, a media frenzy ensued with speculation about what was to feature in the article.
There were rumours that Paltrow’s friendship with Elle Macpherson’s husband Jeff Soffer was being questioned, as well as her marriage to Coldplay star Chris Martin.
After the initial fall out, Paltrow phoned Carter to discuss the article. They were civil and even cracked jokes.
“We talked for about 20 minutes about the story and her reaction, or over-reaction, to it. At one point, she asked my advice as to what to do to get the haters on her side. I suggested putting on 15 pounds. I joked that it works for me.
“She replied I had put on much more than that. Which I thought was fair and funny. Two months after the phone call, websites lit up with news of a truce. We received more mail, much of it now criticising us for caving,” he recalled.
Months after the story broke, the new March issue has the strap line Goop, Gossip and Gwyneth. Vanity Fair’s website features exerts from the letter, titled The Paltrow Affair.
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