Gwyneth Paltrow Posted Her Daughter’s Photo And Sparked A Debate About Privacy And Consent
Gwyneth Paltrow may be an Oscar-winning actress and CEO of her own company, but she’s also a mom who is capable of embarrassing her kids, like any other parent. This week, the GOOP founder posted a selfie that showed herself and her 14-year-old daughter, Apple Martin, on a ski vacation, which she captioned on Instagram with a few emojis.
The snapshot seemed innocuous enough, but Apple later left a comment on the post, writing, “Mom we have discussed this. You may not post anything without my consent.”
Paltrow responded, “You can’t even see your face!” As you can see, the teen is wearing ski goggles in the photo, which cover most of her face.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvZwEmIhTF_/
This public exchange prompted a huge discussion in the comments section of the post, with some people agreeing that Apple should have a say in whether she wants her image shared with the actress’ over 5 million followers, while others came to Paltrow’s defense, citing the fact that she’s just a proud mom and should be able to share photos of her family.
“If your daughter asks you to respect her boundaries/privacy and you say ‘you can’t even see your face’ isn’t that a bit of a gaslight? I mean, she gave you a boundary and you disrespected it and when she expressed her feelings you publicly dismissed and discounted,” wrote Instagram user ssspogo in one comment. “How is she supposed to learn healthy boundaries if you, her mother give a mixed message? She didn’t choose a public life. She expressed a reasonable request. I’m really surprised.”
Instagram user aleeza756 shot back with: “Okay first of all, you’re the parent, you don’t need your child’s consent on anything. I get [that] Apple didn’t want it posted, but when it comes to parents, she has no rights on anything. Her mother posted a pic because she wanted to post something with her daughter and Apple should respect that. Even if Apple doesn’t like it, her mother is allowed to show that she is proud of her kid.”
This isn’t the first time that Paltrow posted a selfie with her daughter. In September 2018, she posted the following mom-and-daughter pic that showed Apple’s entire face:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoMiWcGnmkU/
What do you think? Does Apple have a right to privacy that her mom disregarded, or was she disrespectful to criticize Paltrow in such a public way?