Since Goop’s “This Smells Like My Vagina” debuted into our lives over a year ago, the words ‘vagina candle’ have never strayed far from the headlines. The $75 collaboration with fragrance brand Heretic has spawned various spin-offs (and parodies), from “This Smells Like My Prenup” to a personalised “This Smells Like Kim’s Orgasm”, and has also caused some literal fires. Earlier this year, Jody Thompson reported that her candle “exploded and emitted huge flames, with bits flying everywhere”. And now a second incident has led a man in Texas to sue Goop.
Colby Watson has filed a class-action lawsuit against Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness company after his “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle allegedly “exploded” and became “engulfed in high flames”. According to court documents, Watson left his candle burning for around three hours before it exploded leaving a “black burn ring” on his bedside table and the candle jar “charred and black” although not shattered. He is seeking damages amounting to more than $5 million for himself and whomever else may have been personally victimised by this candle.
On the Goop website, there is a warning advising people not to burn their candles for more than two hours, however, and in a statement the company has dismissed the claims as “frivolous”. “We’re confident this claim is frivolous and an attempt to secure an outsized payout from a press-heavy product,” it reads. “We stand behind the brands we carry and the safety of the products we sell.” Watson acknowledged there was a “limited warning” on the website but argues that Goop “knew the candles were defective”.
This is not the first time Goop has had legal issues. In 2018, the wellness brand settled a $145,00 lawsuit with regulatory authorities in California over a vaginal detox jade egg sold on the website which it claimed could balance hormones, regulate menstrual cycles, and prevent uterine prolapse. Prosecutors from the California Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force said the claims “were not supported by competent and reliable science.”
