Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has found herself at the center of a new controversy after appearing in a campaign for "51 Park," a luxury residential project developed by an Israeli real estate group.
The campaign was filmed in New York but is aimed at the Israeli market — specifically Herzliya, where penthouses in the project are being offered with starting prices of about $10 million.
In the promotional video, Paltrow is seen waking up in a luxury high-rise apartment, going for a morning run and preparing for her day while describing the advantages of living near a park.
"There's a reason the world's most iconic buildings are located next to a park," Paltrow says in the video before asking a driver to take her to "51 Park."
"New York?" he asks.
"Herzliya," Paltrow replies with a smile. "Israel."
The campaign's attempt to draw a comparison between Herzliya Park and New York's Central Park, while leveraging Paltrow's upscale lifestyle image, may have made sense from a marketing perspective. Online, however, the campaign was met with criticism.
2 View gallery
Gwyneth Paltrow: would you like an apartment with a sea view?
(Photo: Phillip Faraone/GettyimagesIL)
Alana Hadid, the half-sister of models Bella and Gigi Hadid, criticized the campaign, writing that "the level of unhinged capitalism is (expletive) astounding."
"Brutal," Hadid also write. "Girl. Have you opened a newspaper or watch the news. This is not even tone deaf it’s actually complicit.”
Hadid was far from alone in her criticism.
One user on X wrote: "Staggeringly poor judgment from Gwyneth Paltrow. It's horrific to be associated with promoting Israel's genocide."
Another user wrote: "Gwyneth Paltrow is helping Israel sell apartments on stolen coastline. She's the face of two luxury towers on Herzliya's waterfront. That coastline was the Palestinian village of al-Haram, whose residents were expelled in 1948. Israelis call it luxury living. The people pushed off that coastline once called it home."
A third commenter added: "Gwyneth Paltrow is at this point almost a parody of herself. I refuse to believe she's this comfortable being the most out-of-touch woman on Earth."
Investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr also joined the criticism, writing on social media: "Would dearly love to have been fly on wall in strategy meetings behind decision by brand Gwyneth Paltrow to shill for Israeli real estate company founded by Netanyahu’s mate accused of various securities frauds to flog a luxury block in the town named after the father of Zionism"
Paltrow, whose father, Bruce Paltrow, was Jewish, has previously spoken about her Jewish heritage and her support for Israel. She has said she was raised in a household that observed both Jewish and Christian holidays and that she feels connected to her Jewish roots.
In 2024, she participated in a series of Hanukkah videos alongside Noa Tishby, in which the two discussed their family traditions and heritage.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Paltrow has also used her social media platforms to share messages supporting the Israeli hostages and raising awareness of their situation.
Her cousin, Rebecca Paltrow, is married to Israeli entrepreneur Adam Neumann.