What hasn’t Gwyneth Paltrow come under fire for? The Oscar-winning actress has been criticized for her polarizing comments regarding her diet, her children’s diet, relationships, lifestyle and money for years, but hasn’t particularly said anything about being a working mother — until now.
In an interview with E!, Gwyneth pretty much said that being a working mother on the set of a movie is more challenging than being a working mother with an office job.
"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," she said. "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."
Needless to say, those are some fightin’ words — and we weren’t surprised when working mom Mackenzie Dawson wrote an open letter to Gwyneth in the NY Post.
In an excerpt from her letter, Mackenzie said:
"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. 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."
First of all, since we’re pretty sure that Gwyneth has never held an office job in her life, it isn’t fair to speak out on being certain that working moms have all the time in the world in the morning when everyone is rushing out the door and in the evening when everyone is falling asleep at the dinner table.
Comparing your career to other mom’s careers is exactly the same thing as waging a mommy war, since every mom handles her life, obstacles and children differently.
Gwyneth may see it from a different perspective too, having millions of dollars to spend on the best childcare, but not being able to see her kids every day for weeks at a time. That’s where the line is really drawn, and why moms have to make all kind of hard choices.
It may seem like the grass is always greener on the other side, no matter who you are, which is why no mom should criticize other mom’s circumstances and not start mommy wars. Every mom is doing the best job that she can, whether it’s at a desk or on a set.
How do you feel about Gwyneth’s comments and Mackenzie’s response?
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