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The Goop Labpractically dares you to be skeptical.
Put another way, she was standing inside a vulva.
How could things possibly go wrong?
But despite Goops tendencies to lean into pseudoscience to sell products, theres one thingThe Goop Labgets very right.
It threads the needle between sensual and clinical.
And, most impressively, it does so without the creeping sense of male gaze.
It does so without feeling like there is any sort of gaze at all.
It was just a matter of figuring out what it would look like on-screen.
Dodson, asThe Goop Labhighlights, is fearless when it comes to talking about sex.
Doerr came back inspired after that first conversation, Minoprio said.
Initially it was, Lets show the variety of female vulva.
They needed to show them in action.
They needed to film a real orgasm.
Ironic, she noted, since most porn is not showing real orgasms anyway.
I said something to Natalie about it [the Norwegian scene], Ross recalled.
I just threw that out there.
People thought it was very compelling, because we rarely see a real, authentic female orgasm.
There was a big part of me that was like, Oh my God.
Im not an exhibitionist.
Id never made a sex tape.
But I knew if I didnt do it, I would regret it, she said.
We didnt ever want Lexi to feel pushed into anything, Minoprio explained.
Doerr also insisted they followed her lead the whole time.
In New York, Goop hired a female staff to shoot the scene.
The shoot took place in Bettys midtown apartment to help put Ross at ease.
Whenever Im with Betty, I feel like I can do anything, she said.
But getting ready for the day still felt like getting ready for a date.
I did chuckle in the shower and think,Id better groom.
You gotta double-check that everything is tip-top.
Much ofThe Goop Labis shot in Goops Santa Monica headquarters.
Cinematographer Yamit Shimonovitz said she wanted to tell a different story with the lighting for this scene.
Its one of the darker pieces in the whole show because it had its own feeling, she said.
(Ross was also grateful the lighting made it harder to see everyone else in the room.)
Shimonovitz thought a lot about how orgasms, in her mind, radiate from the head.
Ross laid on top of a table, which Shimonovitz said made it easier to shoot around her.
We tried not to be too obtrusive, she said.
It was very important to be more suggestive versus graphic.
Ross was unconvinced the footage would ever see the light of day.
I was in denial in the beginning.
Betty and I have done so much stuff on television and they always cut it.
The orgasm scene is spliced with clips from Lexi talking about what shes learned from observing Dodson and Ross.
That was a creative decision we found worked better to round everything out, Doerr explained.
Act first, ask permission later, Minoprio said of the teams strategy.
She also credited Goops balls-to-the-wall approach in getting Netflix on board.
Doerr said she cried the first time they showed a cut to Paltrow.
We really had to do our research and gather statistics and studies.
While she masturbated, Ross said the room was pin-drop silent.
They shot the scene in one take.
Everyone was really watching.
It was a real kind of respect and curiosity, she said.
When Ross finished it took about ten minutes for her to reach orgasm the entire room applauded.
Afterward, I was done.
Ive had an orgasm after tequila.
I put on my clothes and said, Im sorry, but Im going to bail.
I love you all, but its bedtime.
Dodson, meanwhile, smoked a cigarette.
