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Gwyneth’s got a ‘frenemy’

OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS Gwyneth Paltrow has sent film fans into a frenzy of speculation by publicly accusing an unnamed former friend of being “venomous, dangerous and hellbent on taking me down”.

The onslaught on her own website targets a person she refers to as her “frenemy” — fashionable Hollywood slang for an enemy masquerading as a friend.

Her obvious bitterness is so intense that she writes of feeling “deep relief and happiness” when she learned her old acquaintance had suffered a humiliating experience.

Fans have been voting in online polls to identify the “frenemy” — with many believing that 36-year-old Paltrow is referring to fellow movie actress Winona Ryder, who was once her closest friend.

The two women shared a flat together as young hopefuls and in the early stages of their careers Paltrow dated film star Ben Affleck then introduced Ryder to his best pal, actor Matt Damon. But they reportedly fell out after Paltrow won an Oscar as best actress for her role alongside Affleck and Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare In Love in 1998 — a part that Ryder is believed to have been offered first.

Paltrow is said to have seen a script at her friend’s house and asked to audition for the role.

Then Ryder’s career fell apart after a conviction for shoplifting in Los Angeles.

On her website goop.com, Paltrow says: “Back in the day, I had a ‘frenemy’ who, as it turned out, was pretty hellbent on taking me down. This person really did what they could to hurt me. I was deeply upset, I was angry, I was all of those things you feel when you find out that someone you thought you liked was venomous and dangerous. I restrained myself from fighting back. I tried to take the high road. But one day I heard that something unfortunate and humiliating had happened to this person. And my reaction was deep relief and happiness.”

In her blog Paltrow raises the subject as an example of what she calls the “evil tongue” — gossiping about other people.

She asks why people take pleasure in learning of the downfall of others.

Another star who might be the “frenemy” is Jennifer Lopez, who got engaged to Affleck after he split from Paltrow.

In a magazine interview the singer said she could not remember any of Paltrow’s films.

Afterwards Paltrow, whose husband is British rock star Chris Martin of Coldplay, said: “I do not want to be married for six months and then say, ‘Oh well, never mind, on to No2’,” — an apparent reference to Lopez’s own relationships.

Her spokesman said: “She did not write this to name names but to share a lesson she learned.”