Surprise, surprise. Gwyneth Paltrow did it again by angering the world with a line of gemstone-encrusted diapers “known for their ancient emotional-cleansing properties. Infused with a scent of jasmine and bergamot for a revitalized baby.” Known as The Diapér, the purported product cost $120 for a pack of 12, which would last less than two days, and an entire year’s worth of luxury poop catchers would approach the cost of annual public university tuition. Call it another silly take on the motherlode, if you will, but considering that Paltrow’s goop brand sells luxury vibrators and vagina-scented candles, it seemed wholly believable that Gwyneth would want to sell “aspirational” diapers while parents sweat through a formula shortage that could last for months.
Well, Gwyneth is now claiming that the The Diapér was only a joke. Let’s take a look at this thing again.
A Goop press release sent to Vice’s Motherboard revealed that the product was only intended as “satire,” and “goop CEO Gwyneth Paltrow will reveal on Instagram that The Diapér is designed to expose the ridiculousness of taxing diapers like a luxury product.” The whole concoction was meant as a joint PR move by goop and the Baby2Baby organization, which is quoted by Motherboard as stating, “The overwhelming cost of diapers for a family living in poverty forces parents to make impossible choices between diapers and food. Without a sufficient supply, parents are also unable to drop their kids off at daycare, creating a barrier for re-entering the workforce and perpetuating the cycle of poverty.”
From there, Gwyneth appeared in a Baby2Baby-tweeted video, in which she exclaims of The Diapér outrage, “Good.” She added, “It was designed to piss us off.”
Diapers are a necessity, but in 33 states they’re taxed like a luxury item, leaving 1 in 3 moms struggling to afford them. Thank you @goop for launching The Diapér, a fake diaper designed to highlight an outrageous luxury tax. https://t.co/RFC5sNnxfP #changethediapertax pic.twitter.com/pxcJ2gBskt
— Baby2Baby (@baby2baby) May 12, 2022
Mission accomplished? Meanwhile, the formula shortage has led to some actual mom-shaming on Twitter, even though not all women can produce breast milk, nor do they have the time or luxury of pumping milk at work. And Roe v. Wade is on the brink of being overturned, so all of these issues will soon be compounded. Hmm, it might be time to move to Aruba.