Poor auld Gwynnie, she is having a bad week.
First she announced that she was involved in the most civilised break-up of all time and had many of us hiding the voodoo doll of our ex's in inferior shame. And then Ms Paltrow received a letter that was far from her usual fan mail. This one was not found in a fancy-papered envelope, popped through her uptown letter-box. Oh no, this one was from a lady called Mackenzie Dawson and it appeared as an open letter in the New York Post.
Now, before we get down to the details, can anyone say Sinéad and Miley?
See, Mackenzie had taken exception to an interview that Gwyneth gave on E!, where she bemoaned the difficult life she has and thought that 'regular' Mamas had it easy.
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.
Now, I am sure that it is difficult to travel and have a little one at home but something about this statement smacks of a lack of self-awareness.
The first thing that comes to my mind is the interview given by Pádraig Flynn on the Late Late Show when he told us how goddamn hard it was to run three houses and two cars on a salary of hundred thousand.
See those drops on the floor? That's my heart bleeding. Oh no, wait, that's just the sarcasm coming off my words.
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(Image courtesy of AFT/Getty)The open letter is hilarious and puts succinctly what many of us might think. Her witty take on 'livin’ la vida desk job' is the antithesis to the Paltrow pity party that even Peig would be impressed by.
You can read the in it's entirety here but allow me to present to you my favourite excerpts from Mackenzie's syllabic smackdown:
Thank God I don’t make millions filming one movie per year' is what I say to myself pretty much every morning as I wait on a windy Metro-North platform, about to begin my 45-minute commute into the city. Whenever things get rough, all I have to do is keep reminding myself of that fact. It is my mantra. And I know all my fellow working-mom friends feel the same. Am I right, ladies? We’re always gabbing about how easy it is to balance work and home life. Whenever I meet with them at one of our weekly get-togethers - a breeze to schedule, because reliable baby sitters often roam my neighborhood in packs, holding up signs peddling their services - we have a competition to see who has it easier. Is it the female breadwinners who work around the clock to make sure their mortgages get paid, lying awake at night, wracked with anxiety over the idea of losing their jobs? Or is it the mothers who get mommy-tracked and denied promotions? What about the moms with 'regular' 9-to-5 jobs, who are penalized when their kids are sick and they don’t have backup child care? Those women are living the dream, I tell you!
Gwyneth doesn't even have time to put on PANTS, people. (Image courtesy of Terry Richardson/Harper's Bazaar)I especially love the description of her morning routine and her Sophie's Choice scenario involving tights and a crying baby.
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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!
And my favourite piece has to involve short-shorts. Doesn't every woman wear short-shorts? *adjusts gusset furiously*
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. If there’s one thing I look good in after having a child, it’s short-shorts.
Poor old Gwyneth - she might have 99 problems but paying the mortgage ain't one.
What do you think of Mackenzie's open letter? Is it a fair reply, reflecting the life of an average working mama? Or do you think Gwyneth is being unfairly targeted? And do you wear short-shorts on Spring break? To the comments!
