Gwyneth Paltrow Says Internet Bullying Is Like War, One Green Beret Shoots Down That Idea

For Gwyneth Paltrow, mean tweets on Twitter and internet bullying in general can be likened to a war. But not everyone agrees that her comparison is valid, including one former Green Beret named Bryan Sykes, who has earned a Purple Heart for his military service.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, Cindy McCain, the wife of Senator John McCain, was one of many who posted her reaction to Paltrow on Twitter:

“Gwyneth Paltrow is a joke. Her life is like taking bullets for a soldier. What a joke! My 2 sons serving in the military should talk to her.Perhaps Gwyneth Paltrow should go out on patrol with some soldiers. Kind of like a Red Carpet in her mind I guess!”

The controversy started on May 27, when Gwyneth took a stand against internet bullying at the Code Conference in California:

“Celebrities, we’ve always gotten stones thrown at us… Some of us look okay, we look like we have money, our lives seem great. That may or may not be the case… Nevertheless, we get it. Or, at the very least, we expect that it’s part and parcel to what we do. But the Internet also allows us the opportunity to project outward our hatred, our jealousy. It’s culturally acceptable to be an anonymous commenter. It’s culturally acceptable to say, ‘I’m just going to take all of my internal pain and externalize it anonymously.’ It’s taken me a long time to get to the point where I can see these things and not take it as a personal affront and a hurt.”

While many people who are not celebrities would probably agree with that sentiment, Gwyneth Paltrow opened up a can of worms when she continued her explanation by making this comparison:

“It’s almost like how, in war, you go through this bloody, dehumanizing thing, and then something is defined out of it. My hope is, as we get out of it, we’ll reach the next level of conscience.”

And that’s what has many people in the military so upset. Mr. Sykes felt so strongly on the subject that he even wrote an open letter to Paltrow on the internet, which I’ll duplicate here in part:

“You said, ‘Its almost like, how in war, you go through this bloody dehumanizing thing and then something is defined out of it.’ I could see how you, and others like you in “the biz”, could be so insecure and mentally weak that you could pair the difficulty of your life on twitter to my brothers who have had their limbs ripped off and seen their friends shot, blown up, burned and disfigured, or wake up every morning in pain – while just starting the day is a challenge. How about our wives? The ones that sign on to be there for us through thick and thin, that help us to shake the hardships of war upon our return? And do all this while being mothers to our kids, keeping bills in order because we are always gone, and keeping our lives glued together. They do all this, by the way, without a team of accountants, nanny’s, personal assistants, and life coaches. Yeah, reading a mean tweet is just like all that. You know what is really “dehumanizing”, Miss Paltrow? The fact that you’d even consider that your life as an “A-list” celebrity reading internet comments could even compare to war and what is endured on the battlefield…. Let me be the first to burst your bubble: a long line at Starbucks, your driver being 3 minutes late, a scuff mark on your $1200 shoes and a mean tweet do not constitute difficulty in the eyes of a soldier. Understand me when I say this: war does not define me. It is a chapter in my life that helped shaped me. Being a husband and father is what defines me. Remember, sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never…be close to what war is.”

What do you think about Gwyneth Paltrow’s comments in relation to internet bullying and celebrities?