A Texas man has filed a class-action lawsuit against Gwyneth Paltrow‘s company Goop, claiming that its vagina-scented candle exploded while in use. According to a report by TMZ, Colby Watson filed legal documents saying that he purchased the 10.5-ounce “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle in January. Goop has issued a statement saying it expects the case to be dropped.
Watson claims that he first lit the eccentric candle a month after purchasing it for $75 on Goop’s website. He said that he put it on a level surface far from any flammable objects, drafts, or open windows and that it burned for three hours without incident. Then, the flame suddenly grew out of control and filled his room with smoke. Although he apparently put out the blaze in time, he says that it left a burn on his table and that Goop’s warnings on the product are insufficient. He is seeking $5 million in damages.
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Goop responded to this claim on Tuesday morning, apparently denying Watson’s version of events outright. In a statement to TMZ, the company said: “We’re confident this claim is frivolous and an attempt to secure an outsized payout from a press-heavy product. We stand behind the brands we carry and the safety of the products we sell. Here, Heretic — the brand that supplies the candle — has substantiated the product’s performance and safety through industry-standard testing.”
The “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle comes with a “limited warning,” including instructions not to burn it for more than 2 hours at a time. Watson’s lawsuit acknowledges this but claims that it is not enough and that consumers should be aware that the candle is “inherently dangerous.”
The candle is one of the most sensational products ever to come out of Goop — a wellness and lifestyle brand Paltrow founded in 2008. It promotes many ideas and initiatives associated with “New Age” thinking and is best-known for its pricy products. The candle hit the market in January of 2020.
According to a report by Fox Business, the candle is nothing more than a joke between Paltrow and perfumer Douglas Little. While experimenting with new fragrances, Paltrow joked that one smelled suspiciously familiar to her. However, the joke candle sold out on the website quickly and has garnered huge prices on the secondhand market.
