Alas, Madonna And Gwyneth Probably Hate Each Other

For a few months now, there celebrity industrial complex keeps returning to the State Of Madonna And Gwyneth's Union. Is it stable? In shambles? Probably the latter, since the rumors won't stop bubbling up. Smoke, fire, etc.

In the May issue of Vogue, Gwyneth mentioned that she was "having a situation right now with a friend where I'm feeling pretty angry." Lots of people took this as a reference to Madonna, because who else could possibly me SASSY enough to throw beatific Gwyneth into a negative-energy funk? The Vogue interview came on the heels of gossip circulating about Madonna no longer working with trainer Tracy Anderson, who is credited with keeping Gwyneth looking like gazelle. Reportedly Madonna was just too demanding of Anderson's schedule — which meant less time for Anderson to spend cardio-prancing with Gwyneth. And thou shalt not interfere with the pursuit of physical perfection.

Then again, shortly after the Gwyneth Is Pissed story came out in Vogue, Madge and Gwyneth were spotted casually hanging out with Jesus Luz and Stella McCartney. Perhaps olive branches were extended; perhaps Stella wove them into matching crowns. Who can say?

But now comes more gossip, courtesy of Us Weekly, supporting the rumors of broken friendship:

"They don't speak," says the insider. "I can't tell you exactly why they had the falling out, but Gwyneth can be jealous and competitive."

Jealous, say, of someone getting too much quality time with a personal trainer? Gwyneth's reps deny any bad blood, but we all know that "insiders" know best! Or have more interesting things to say, anyhow. And given that this rumor of the ladies' breakup simply refuses to go away, there's quite possibly something to it.

But whether or not the gals had a catfight, pillowfight or a cold war, what's the fixation here? Obviously, the battling power blonde story is a seller, but why does this hold newsstand interest more than the usual celebrity crap? Maybe it's because we're kind of amazed that two A-list celebrities really were genuine friends. It's hard to think of any female celebrity bosom buddies besides Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz, or Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox (a close relationship that grew out of ten years of working together and eating the same salad every day). Madonna and Gwyneth (and their respective PR machines), however, have given us the impression over the years that these two really are (or were) tight, and not just red-carpet wingwomen. And that's actually nice, isn't it? A female friendship certainly is a nice, positive contrast to the usual tabloid tragedies! Or it was? And as much as we might love the idea of two very famous women having a great and genuine friendship, the image of these two dramatically ripping off their BFF necklaces is far more compelling.

Source: Madonna And "Jealous" Gwyneth Paltrow Had "Falling Out" [Us]
Paltrow Dismisses Madonna Feud Rumors [Daily Express]
Photos of Madonna, Jesus, Gwyneth and Stella in London [PopSugar]