Gwyneth Paltrow's new Netflix documentary features a woman undergoing an exorcism. The trailer for "The Goop Lab" series, which explores psychedelics, energy work and other wellness topics show Elise Loehen, the chief content officer at Paltrow's Goop company, during a chiropractic procedure performed by healer and chiropractor John Amaral.
Amaral, according to his website, acts as a "secret weapon in mind-body-consciousness and has found powerful ways to upgrade the body's energy system. Elise Loehen decides to try his procedures and is seen telling Paltrow "I had an exorcism". The footage then shows the woman on a massage table with her back arched, while Amaral makes hand movements.
"It felt like a rope was pulling me. It was very painful, actually. And then he snapped his fingers, and I just started wretching. I dry-heaved for a while. It feels amazing once you get the release, but I pray it looks less crazy than it feels. I felt like I was standing on my head at some points in that session", Loehen told Paltrow in the episode of The Goop Lab.
Gwyneth Paltrow herself uses Amaral's services. The actress claimed that she cried "the first time John worked" on her. The Goop Lab series also features a scene where a 90-year-old sex expert helps a woman have an orgasm.
Paltrow and her company Goop, are no strangers to shocking the public. Just recently the company introduced a candle called "Smells Like My Vagina". The $ 75 product boasts a fragrance packed with geranium, citrusy bergamot and cedar and according to Goop's website can put people in a state of mind for "fantasy, seduction and sophisticated warmth". Paltrow also recently appeared in the company's Christmas ad, where among other things she advertised a vibrator.
Paltrow and Goop have long been criticized for selling ordinary products for unreasonably high prices or selling products with questionable medicinal value. In 2017, a consumer advocacy group filed a complaint against Goop accusing it of selling medicinal products with "deceptive" health claims.
The group was concerned in particular with Goop's vaginal "Jade Egg", which cost $66. The company claimed the product could help women balance hormone levels, make menstrual cycles more regular and "increase their sexual energy". Paltrow had to pay $145,000 in civil penalties for the false advertisement.
But despite criticism and legal battles, the company is thriving and has recently opened a new store in San Fransisco.