A few days ago, The Morton Report had a story about how Gwyneth Paltrow “saved a life” on 9/11. CB, Bedhead and I all debated whether we should cover it, because it’s a confluence of touchy subjects – 9/11, Gwyneth, peasants. As we approach the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, I’m sure we’re already going to be bombarded with survival stories, which is fine. I’m already preparing myself to be a total sobbing mess for about two weeks straight, just as soon as all of the documentaries start (Sidenote: have you ever seen the one about 9/11 photography project? I was a mess. Or the one about a woman who took in an elderly homeless man after the attacks? I couldn’t stop crying.) Getting back to Gwyneth and this story… it’s not that I don’t believe this survivor’s story… it’s just that I’m not sure Gwyneth deserves the credit for “saving a life”…? You can read the woman’s story here, at The Morton Report. The highlights from the story:
Lara Lundstrom Clarke’s life was saved by a Sliding Doors chance encounter with Gwyneth Paltrow on September 11, 2001.
It was one of those pristine blue-sky New York mornings, and Lara Lundstrom, a 24-year-old account manager at Baseline Financial Services, decided to rollerblade on the Hudson before work. She knew if she was quick, she could get in some sweat time and make it to her job on the 77th floor of Tower 2 of the World Trade Center by 9:00 am.
After a quick shower she donned her work attire, an Ann Taylor Loft grey skirt and blouse, slipped on a pair of low kitten heels, grabbed her purse and ran out the door. Of course making it in time for her 1/9 train meant she had to jaywalk across 7th street to Christopher Street station. No problem, she’d made a habit of that.
“It was one of those mornings that felt good, you had a little skip in your step. What the heck – I always cut across 7th Avenue. Then all of the sudden a silver Mercedes SUV came barreling down towards me.
“I stopped and they screeched to a halt. Then it developed in to one of those classic who-goes-first situations. It got ridiculous. Then I made eye contact with the Mercedes driver. OMG it was Gwyneth Paltrow. I knew she lived down the street, so it made sense. She waved me across, I crossed and she continued on her way. At least if I was late for work I had a story to tell.”
She raced to the subway, hurtled down the stairs to the platform only to watch the doors of the 1/9 slam shut.
She had no idea she had just experienced her own real life Sliding Doors moment, the movie starring Paltrow about a chance romantic encounter that depended on whether or not she caught a subway train.
“At that time I was annoyed at everything that had made me late that day, including Gwyneth Paltrow,” Lara recalls.
[From The Morton Report]
The woman ends up being late, and when she got to her subway stop, the first plane had hit. Gwyneth’s publicist, Stephen Huvane, confirmed to media outlets that Gwyneth “remembered the encounter between herself and Lara the morning of 9/11” and that Goop was “deeply moved” by Lara’s story. Does Gwyneth deserve credit? Sure, I guess. I don’t know. I would have liked the story more if Gwyneth had actually stopped someone on the street to call them a fat peasant, and THAT was why they were late for work. Possible vehicular manslaughter doesn’t feel like saving a life.
Can we move on to something more typically superficial and Goop-tastic? Us Weekly reports that Gwyneth bitched out some random person who had given her maid a ride to Goop’s house in the Hamptons. This is more like it:
Down-to-earth or downright rude? Gwyneth Paltrow is receiving mixed reviews from insiders in New York’s Hamptons this summer. Though one witness at the Maidstone Club tells the new issue of Us Weekly that the Oscar winner, 38, is “sweet to staffers,” another source says Paltrow is anything but.
Case in point? After a friendly traveler gave Paltrow’s housekeeper a lift from a bus stop to her home, the actress reprimanded the driver.
“Gwyneth was mad that the maid showed strangers where she lived,” the insider tells Us. “Gwyneth said, ‘Please don’t give my maid a ride again!'”
Paltrow’s rep denies she got huffy over the help. “Her housekeeper has a car, and Gwyneth would never say something like that.”
[From Us Weekly]
Gwyneth “would never say anything like that”? Who is Huvane kidding? We know our Goop. It was probably much worse than that. Gwyneth probably told the driver, “I wanted her to walk to work because she’s so fat. Why didn’t you understand that? Now get your peasanty lorry out of my roundabout, as we say in my motherland, jolly old England!”
Photos courtesy of Fame.
