Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has previously faced criticism for her Goop wellness brand, but she is now drawing even stronger backlash for becoming the face of 51 Park, a luxury real estate development project in Israel.

Paltrow, who grew up in an interfaith Jewish-Christian family, appears in a commercial that started airing in Israel recently for 51 Park, a luxury housing project in Herzliya, News.Az reports, citing The Jerusalem Post.

The commercial shows her waking up in her New York apartment, where she wonders, “Who decided mornings should be so early?” and bemoans the fact that “Even my coffee needs a coffee” before going out for a run in nearby Central Park. While it’s “brutal” for her to start her morning run, she says that, “Once I hit the park, pure energy takes over,” and notes that, “There’s a reason the world’s most iconic buildings are by a park.”

Coming out of her building dressed in a chic white suit, she tells a waiting driver to take her to “51 Park.” He asks, “New York?” and she replies, smiling, “Herzliya, Israel.” A voiceover lists the features of the two-tower development, which will be 51 stories tall and located right next to Herzliya Park.

Paltrow accused of supporting genocide for taking commercial job

Paltrow began to receive online hate after the commercial aired. Most accused her of supporting genocide, and many said she deserved to be beaten, and worse.

“Gwyneth Paltrow promotes $10M penthouses in Herzliya while Gaza burns and Lebanon bleeds,” one user wrote, while another, referencing Paltrow’s phrasing in the announcement of her divorce from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, said she was “consciously uncoupled from morality.”

Another X user wrote: "Something deeply unspeakably sinister about this thin, wealthy, white woman looking for any possible opportunity to collaborate with a state committing genocide across at least two states,” and others criticized her supposed $10 million contract for the commercial.

Paltrow, who is active on Instagram, did not post the commercial, but many of the comments on her recent posts reiterate these accusations, calling her such epithets as “Genocide Queen.”

Others praised her for her support for Israel and for “being on the right side of history.”

The actress has spoken up about her Jewish roots many times and, during the war with Hamas, posted support for the hostages held in Gaza. Her brother, Jake Paltrow, directed a movie in Israel, the 2022 June Zero, which was co-written by Tom Shoval and which focuses on people involved in the trial and execution of Adolf Eichmann, one of the main Nazi officials behind the Holocaust. Chris Martin has visited Israel several times to spend time at educational programs he supports. 

In recent years, several ad campaigns featuring Hollywood stars have run in Israel, including Morgan Freeman for Tadiran, Snoop Dogg for SodaStream, and David Schwimmer for Meitav.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli