Gwyneth Paltrow’s neighbors in Montecito, California are in an “uproar” over the actress’s plans to to build a mega-mansion they say is incompatible with the area’s surrounding homes, according to a report.
Andrew Rice, a spokesperson for one of Paltrow’s neighbors, told the New York Post‘s Page Six this weekend that the Iron Man star’s planned 14,000 square-foot mansion in the plush Santa Barbara County town will block their views with its height and is aesthetically out of place among the other houses in the area.
“She’s created an uproar with neighbors on all three sides,” Rice, a spokesman for neighbor Michael MacElhenny, told Page Six’s Richard Johnson.
“Michael and the other neighbors have tried to work with her, and they’ve gotten nowhere,” he added.
Gwyneth Paltrow attends book signing at goop-in@Nordstrom at The Grove on June 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for goop)
Brian Chesky, co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Airbnb and Gwyneth Paltrow, actress & founder of goop speak onstage at Cultivating the Art of Taste & Style at the Los Angeles Theatre during Airbnb Open LA – Day 3 on November 19, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Mike Windle/Getty Images for Airbnb)
Rice also told Page Six that he believes the Montecito Board of Architectural Review approved plans for Paltrow’s mansion when the architect claimed to have lowered the planned height by eight feet, but that in actuality, the height had been lowered by just one foot.
A representative for Paltrow didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Paltrow has reportedly owned homes in New York City, the Hamptons, the Brentwood area of Los Angeles and in London, and her interior design choices have often been reported on by architectural and style outlets. In February, Architectural Digest gave readers a small glimpse into a New York City penthouse once owned by Paltrow and ex-husband Chris Martin that had hit the market for $10 million, while in June, People magazine reported on the actress’s impeccably organized pantries at her Hamptons home.
In addition to her prolific acting career, including multiple outings as Pepper Potts in Marvel’s inter-connected superhero cinematic universe, Paltrow also founded the lifestyle newsletter and website Goop in 2008, which focuses on healthy food and living for women. In June, the brand celebrated its inaugural “In Goop Health” event in Culver City, California, where guests — including celebrities like Cameron Diaz and model Miranda Kerr — were treated to organic paleo wraps and bee-pollen smoothies and were able to have photographs taken of their auras.
But the brand has also come under fire for its annual holiday gift guides, which often feature wildly expensive items likely out of financial reach for regular women Paltrow claims she represents. In June, NASA threw cold water on Goop’s latest product, $120 “Body Vibes” stickers made from the agency’s “spacesuit material” intended to “rebalance energy frequency” in the wearer’s body. A former scientist at the agency called the company’s claim “BS.”
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum