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Gwyneth Paltrow Trouble with Goop No Big Whoop

Truth rating: 2

Federal Trade Commission FTC Goop.com Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Paltrow Federal Trade Commission Gwyneth Paltrow FTC Gwyneth Paltrow Goop Jennifer Aniston La Mamounia La Mamounia Hotel La Mamounia Morocco Perez Hilton PerezHilton.com

3:26 pm, December 18th, 2009

(GettyImages.com)

Could Gwyneth Paltrow‘s recent vacation land her in hot water?

A story getting a lot of play speculates that the actress might be the first celebrity “to run afoul of the Federal Trade Commission’s stringent new guidelines for paid endorsements.”

What’s Paltrow’s alleged offense? Her recent praise of the La Mamounia Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco after a Thanksgiving visit. On her lifestyle site Goop, Paltrow wrote glowingly of the hotel’s luxurious features, including its gardens, designed interiors, spa treatments, and dining options.

The problem?

The FTC published new guidelines last month under which a celebrity who endorses a product or service “has to disclose any ‘material connection’ to the provider,” including free merchandise and services in addition to cash payments. Since many high-profile guests like Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston are rumored to be given accommodations at places like La Mamounia in exchange for the publicity they attract, and since the new rules “specifically target new media like e-newsletters and websites” (Goop‘s two formats), DailyFinance.com speculates that Paltrow’s high praise could be subject to a high fine.

Gossip Cop suspected the reports were making a mountain out of a molehill. A representative for Paltrow dismissed the severity of the claims. “She always talks about places she has been and loves on Goop,” he told Gossip Cop, “This is no different.”

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