What a week actress Gwyneth Paltrow has had. First she announces a split from husband Chris Martin but uses the oddball phrase “unconscious coupling” when describing their separation. Then a recent interview with E! News surfaces where she talks about how much harder it is to be a working mom when you have a job like hers compared to, you know, having a regular office job. Here’s a direct quote from the interview found on the E! News site:
“I think it’s different when you have an office job, because it’s routine and, you know, you can do all the stuff in the morning and then you come home in the evening. When you’re shooting a movie, they’re like, ‘We need you to go to Wisconsin for two weeks,’ and then you work 14 hours a day and that part of it is very difficult. I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it’s not like being on set,” she said.
Needless to say it outraged working moms everywhere who have to work a lot more than two weeks at a time, let alone get paid millions to do it. Working mom and writer Mackenizie Dawson decided to respond with an open letter to Gwyneth Paltrow that has gone viral overnight. Here’s a standout line: “Thank God I don’t make millions filming one movie per year” is what I say to myself pretty much every morning…”
Here is a longer excerpt from her letter to Gwyneth:
You mentioned in your E! interview that when someone has an office job, “You know you can do all the stuff in the morning,” and that hit the nail on the head. As someone with an office job, my mornings are obviously pretty leisurely. Sometimes I even have time to drink half of my coffee before it gets cold! After my 6 a.m. wake-up, I have a lot of time to loll around, hopping in the shower and then throwing makeup on my face, hoping that I’ll have enough time to put my tights on before my son starts crying in his crib. Then, when he does start crying, I have to make the decision: Do I get fully dressed, or do I go tend to him with my hair still dripping wet? Talk about being spoilt for choice!
Then I have a few Bellinis and adjust my 401(k) contributions.
After I get home from work, I’m full of energy and ready to cook dinner using one of the recipes you post on your lifestyle Web site, Goop: slow-cooked kale, pancetta and bread crumbs, anyone? After that, I’ll go to yoga, spend a few hours meditating and maybe do some online shopping, picking up a pair of $350 white leopard-printed short-shorts via Goop in preparation for the “spring break” I’ll take with my husband and son.
What do you think about Gwyneth’s comments about regular working moms? Are you infuriated, barely affected, and most importantly, if you were a fan of the actress, are you still? Leave a comment below!
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