Did Gwyneth Paltrow Throw Major Shade At Tom Holland? His Fans Certainly Think So After Robert Downey Jr.’s Speech

Gwyneth Paltrow left the internet buzzing after resurfaced comments from Robert Downey Jr. suggested she didn’t recognize Tom Holland, even though they starred in four Marvel films together. 

The moment, shared during Downey Jr.’s speech at The Hollywood Reporter’s 2025 Women in Entertainment gala, instantly reignited a long-running joke about Paltrow’s famously loose grasp of Marvel lore. 

Online, reactions quickly split between those who called Paltrow’s comments harmless forgetfulness and those speculating if the Goop founder had thrown unexpected shade.

Robert Downey Jr. poked fun at Gwyneth Paltrow’s meme-worthy forgetfulness

Image credits: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

When Robert Downey Jr., 60, stepped onstage to present the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award to Gwyneth Paltrow, 53, the audience expected jokes. Sure enough, he delivered. 

As he teased his longtime friend and former on-screen partner, Downey Jr. described Paltrow as “impossibly intelligent, yet forever confused by the basic tenets of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its inhabitants.”

Image credits: Presley Ann/Getty Images

According to Downey Jr., Paltrow once asked him, “Who’s that?” when referencing Tom Holland, the actor she had already worked with in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. 

He responded with a joke that’s now being repeated across social media. “That’s Spider-Man. He said his name was Peter. His character’s name is Peter,” Downey Jr. said. 

“He’s Tom Holland. You’ve done four movies with him.”

This was not the first time that Gwyneth Paltrow forgot that she starred in a Marvel movie

Image credits: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Image credits: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images

Fans immediately latched onto the moment. Many remembered Paltrow’s past confusion on Jon Favreau’s The Chef Show on Netflix, when she famously forgot that she starred in Spider-Man: Homecoming. 

At the time, Favreau had to specifically remind Paltrow that she and Downey Jr. filmed a pre-press conference scene for Spider-Man: Homecoming before she actually remembered that she starred in the film, according to Decider. 

Image credits: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

“Remember Spider-Man in the end and…and…Tom Holland’s there, and you’re going to walk out and do a press conference?” the director said, to which Paltrow replied, “Oh, yes!”

So when Downey Jr. doubled down on the joke in front of a room full of industry figures, it reignited the meme all over again.

Online, reactions ranged from amused to suspicious. One user on X wondered aloud: “Gwyneth Paltrow asking who Tom Holland is after four movies together… is this a memory lapse or subtle shade?” 

Another shared a joke at her expense: “Side effect of living in your own bubble universe.”

Image credits: Sony Pictures Releasing

Still, others argued that it was an honest mistake on the Goop founder’s part. “I got buddies in the gym I’ve been talking to for years. Still don’t know any of their names either,” a third wrote. 

Robert Downey Jr. praised Paltrow’s career, controversies, and Goop empire

Image credits: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Despite the viral quips, Robert Downey Jr.’s speech wasn’t meant to embarrass Paltrow. On the contrary, it was a tribute to a co-star and a longtime friend, according to a Unilad report. 

After poking fun at her MCU memory, he shifted gears, celebrating what he called decades of “irrefutable relevance and reinvention.” 

He praised her Oscar-winning performance in Shakespeare in Love, referencing the recent passing of playwright Tom Stoppard. He also highlighted her evolution from actor to lifestyle mogul, crediting her for building Goop “between takes on the set of Iron Man.”

Downey Jr. leaned into the word “polarizing,” describing it as “a word used by dingbats to falsely describe powerful women who demonstrate decades of irrefutable relevance and reinvention.” 

According to the Oppenheimer star, Paltrow’s willingness to stay unapologetically herself even when controversies were abounding was part of her compelling character.

He even referenced her 2023 ski trial, praising the grace with which she handled the media circus, saying it inspired a musical theater production celebrating her “moral strength, intestinal fortitude, not to mention her impeccably tasteful, civil suit chic-yet-practical courtroom attire.”

By the time Downey Jr. reached his finale and called his former co-star and friend onto the stage, the room was ready for applause. 

“It’s time to recognize… Gwyneth fuggin’ Paltrow,” Downey Jr. said. The applause did not disappoint.

Netizens shared their thoughts on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Tom Holland gaffe on social media

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