Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter Apple Martin has broken her silence on the ‘really upsetting’ criticism she’s received following last year’s ‘mean girl’ drama.
The model, 20 — who is one of two children Oscar-winner Gwyneth shares with musician ex-husband Chris Martin — did so while speaking to Interview magazine about life as a Hollywood ‘nepo baby.’
At one point, she was asked by Mel Ottenberg, editor-in-chief of Interview magazine, if she ever reads ‘upsetting stuff’ about herself on the internet.
In November 2024, Apple sparked controversy while attending the elite Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris after a clip of herself being a ‘mean girl’ at the ball went viral.
Apple, who was supported by her A-list parents at the invite-only event in November, was accused of ‘stealing the spotlight’ from another girl getting her picture taken.
While a source close to Gwyneth insisted that the moment was taken out of context, fans ruthlessly tore into Apple as the video circulated on TikTok and Instagram.
While Apple didn’t specifically reference the debutante ball backlash in Wednesday’s chat, she did call out the ‘crazy conspiracies’ that have circulated about her online.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter Apple Martin has broken her silence on the ‘really upsetting’ criticism she’s received following last year’s ‘mean girl’ drama; seen in January 2023
In November 2024, Apple sparked controversy while attending the elite Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris after a clip of herself being a ‘mean girl’ at the ball went viral; seen with mom Gwyneth at the ball
She told Ottenberg that she has avoided looking at social media comments ‘like the plague’ since January 2023 when she made her Paris Fashion Week debut at Chanel.
‘After the Chanel show, I did [read upsetting comments]. Then I quickly realized why everybody has always said, ‘Don’t do it.’ Because even if you see a million positive things, there can be one thing that absolutely wrecks you,’ the rising star explained.
Her attendance at the Chanel event received a mixed reaction online, with some praising Apple’s ‘model looks’ and others slamming her as just another ‘nepo baby.’
She admitted that reading hateful things about herself has had a devastating impact on her mental well-being.
‘So, I’ve stopped now and I avoid it like the plague, because I know myself and I know that if I see stuff that isn’t true and that’s really upsetting to me, I’m going to be like, ‘Oh my god, I should never go out in public again.”
Now, Apple is focused on the positive and has learned to accept the downsides of being in the public eye.
‘I’ve tried to be like, ‘People are going to say stuff, and that’s okay,” she said. ‘And like everybody, there’s going to be stuff that isn’t true and stuff that is upsetting, and all I can do is just be the best that I can be and be with the people I love and not read random, crazy conspiracies.’
Le Bal des Débutantes, which took place at the Shangri-La in Paris, is an annual gathering that invites young women from some of the prestigious – and wealthiest – families from Europe, Asia, Africa and the U.S. to make their debut into society.
Apple wore a sky blue Valentino Haute Couture gown as she attended the ball on the arm of her dashing date, Count Leo Henckel von Donnersmarck, before letting loose with her parents, Gwyneth and Chris Martin, who divorced in 2016.
However, during the weekend, Apple became the target of ‘mean girl’ accusations after it appeared she was trying to steal the spotlight from fellow debutante Aliénor Loppin de Montmort in a viral video of the pair taking photos together.
Apple, who was supported by her A-list parents at the invite-only event in November, was accused of ‘stealing the spotlight’ from another girl getting her picture taken
While Apple didn’t specifically reference the debutante ball backlash in Wednesday’s chat, she did call out the ‘crazy conspiracies’ that have circulated about her online
In the clip, Montmort was seen taking her turn posing for the camera when Apple appeared from behind and sashayed into the shot.
The backlash was so intense that Montmort came forward to defend Apple.
She insisted that Apple was the ‘nicest girl ever’ and that she didn’t deserve ‘an ounce of’ the hate she was getting online.
Apple’s mom Gwyneth recently broke her silence on the matter as she told Vanity Fair that her daughter has ‘always had a lot of trepidation around being in the public eye.
Ottenberg briefly mentioned the debutante ball as he asked Apple how she maintains a ‘mystery’ about herself while also being highly-publicized.
Apple said that growing up under a ‘surveillance state’ as the child of two A-list stars trained her to be that way.
However, Apple admitted that, despite being accustomed to the paparazzi and fanfare, she still gets ‘nervous’ about screwing up publicly.
‘It’s interesting because I grew up with that uneven balance of getting out of the airport with my mom and being bombarded with cameras, and then just being a normal kid. I remember I read Discipline and Punish [by Michel Foucault], which is a great book, but talking about the surveillance state—I feel like I’ve grown up with that, which is really scary and makes me very anxious about making mistakes,’ she explained.
‘So I was really discouraged from doing anything in the public eye. Also, I was like, ‘I don’t think we need another celebrity child in the world.’ I just try to do what feels right and block out anything regarding me in the news to the best of my ability.
‘And I’m getting a lot better at being like, ‘F*** it.’ I’m not going to be scared. I just want to do what seems fun and figure my life out.’
Elsewhere in Apple’s Interview chat, she provided rare insight into her life as a 20-year-old junior at the prestigious at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Instead of sharing a dorm, Apple has luxury of living alone in an on-campus apartment.
She told Ottenberg that she has avoided looking at social media comments ‘like the plague’ since January 2023 when she made her Paris Fashion Week debut at Chanel; seen in February 2025
She revealed for the first time that she’s studying law at the private institution, where tuition can cost upwards of $67,000 per semester.
‘I’m a law, history, and society major, but I wish I would’ve taken—maybe I’ll take a theater course before I leave. It’s a fun balance between my very different extracurriculars and my major,’ she shared.
Amid the political climate and crackdowns on college protests, Apple shared that it’s been ‘a little tense’ on campus.
‘People, including myself, are very scared, but that also means that everyone’s coming together and talking about what’s going on,’ she said. ‘But the vibe when I’m with my friends is so fun—that’s the most important thing to me right now, just hanging out with them.’
She added: ‘Just doing fun activities that take you out of the world.
Apple said she is currently gearing up to star in a school musical as part of the Vanderbilt Original Cast, which she described as an ‘esteemed cabaret theater group.’
‘This semester’s show is a musical parody of Love Island called Love on an Island. It’s so fun. The songs are phenomenal,’ she teased.
When asked if she has dreams of becoming a film actress like her Oscar-winning mom, Apple admitted that she’s more interested in theater.
‘I would love to do theater because I adore it so much. I’ve obviously never done film before, but I’ve been trying to get involved in student films,’ she said, adding: ‘I was born a theater kid.’
As part of the Vanderbilt Original Cast, Apple has been able to showcase her unique singing abilities.
‘I have a very low voice so whenever we’re doing harmonies it’ll be like, ‘Alright, it’s the boys and Apple,’ she shared with a laugh. ‘I’m singing my absolute favorite song ever this semester, which I’m so excited about.
Elsewhere in Apple’s Interview chat, she provided rare insight into her life as a 20-year-old junior at the prestigious at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee; seen in 2023
She revealed for the first time that she’s studying law at the private institution, where tuition can cost upwards of $67,000 per semester; seen with mom Gwyneth Paltrow and dad Chris Martin
‘I’m definitely not the best in the org, but I love it.’
Apple credited her passion for acting/performing as the motivation for her wanting to study law.
‘So, the reason why I was originally like, ‘Maybe I’ll be a lawyer,’ was because I loved acting, but I was insecure and nervous, so I was like, “Oh my god, if I’m a lawyer, I can perform on the stage in a trial setting,’ she confessed.
She joked that she even envisioned herself morphing into Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods from the comedy flick Legally Blonde.
‘It’s a lot harder than it looks. I don’t know how she managed to go to law school every day as fabulous as she did,’ she said of Woods. ‘But I love history. I love true crime. I love investigating. I also think it’s fun to look at the history of law and see how you can implement it in a modern context.
‘If I were to be a lawyer, I would just want to help people. That’s probably the biggest thing.’
Elsewhere, Apple spoke about her personal style after growing up as the daughter of one of Hollywood’s most glamorous women.
The topic came up as Ottenberg reflected on her time as an intern at Interview magazine back in 2023.
The editor-in-chief described Apple’s intern style as ‘low-profile’ and asked her if that is how she always aims to dress.
‘I think it depends. I feel like my style hasn’t been fully actualized yet, but I’m slowly getting more into it,’ she shared. ‘Day to day, I’m wearing Doc Martens—my red Oxfords, jeans, a white t-shirt, and a jacket— but then I have my fun and fabulous stuff.’
She said that the shoot she recently did for Interview has inspired her to experiment more with her wardrobe.
‘Honestly, the Interview shoot made me be like, oh my god, I need to start having more fun and not be scared.’
Apple revealed that she often ‘steals’ from Gwyneth’s closet but that her A-list mom told her that she ‘saved’ a lot of her favorite pieces for that exact reason.
Elsewhere, Apple spoke about her personal style after growing up as the daughter of one of Hollywood’s most glamorous women
Apple revealed that she often ‘steals’ from Gwyneth’s closet but that her A-list mom told her that she ‘saved’ a lot of her favorite pieces for that exact reason; Gwyneth seen in 2024
‘I’ll sneak into her closet and steal little things. My absolute favorite stuff is her old Calvin Klein from the ’90s. I have a lot of it and it’s the best thing in the world.’
She added: ‘Going into her archive closet is just heaven on earth.’
Apple named Jane Birkin as her style icon and shared that she often looks to the ”90s supermodel vibe’ for inspiration.
Lately, she’s been ‘really getting into the ’60s and ’70s’ and wants colorful clothes to have a comeback.
‘I want fun eyeshadow and fun clothes. But I don’t really care if they come back. I’m just going to start doing it again.’
While she’s avoided much of social media for the sake of mental health, Apple confessed that she has a private Instagram account.
When asked ‘how many followers’ she has, Apple replied: ‘Not many. I have 1,794 followers.’
In comparison, her mom Gwyneth boasts over 8.7million Instagram followers.
‘I only follow my friends and my friends follow me. But I love to curate my Instagram and make it nice,’ Apple shared.
As for the type of content she likes to share, Apple said she posts about her ‘life’ as well as ‘politics.’
‘I post a lot of stories about what’s going on,’ she told Ottenberg.
While Apple isn’t ‘very positive’ about the direction 2025 is going — even going as far to call it ‘chaos’ — she said she’s hoping for a ‘fun disco summer’ that will allow people to ‘just dance through the pain.’
As for the type of music she’s into these days, Apple she’s ‘been listening to a lot of Lady Gaga’ but typically turns to ‘intense Russian classical music’ while studying or writing essays.
‘It makes me type really fast,’ she quipped.
