'Exploding' vagina candle lands Gwyneth Paltrow in possible million-dollar legal battle

Gwyneth Paltrow's 'This Smells Like My Vagina' candle has exploded to a new level of controversy, landing the actress' lifestyle business at the centre of a lawsuit.

A US man has filed a class-action complaint this week, claiming the Goop candle "exploded" and became "engulfed in high flames" within a few hours of being lit.

The company, founded by Paltrow, has labelled the lawsuit "frivolous".

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The customer, Colby Watson, says he purchased the $75 ($AUD96.30) candle, named 'This Smells Like My Vagina', from Goop's website in January and lit it for the first time the following month.

After burning for around three hours, it allegedly "exploded".

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The candle's online listing warns users to not burn it "for more than two hours at a time" and to "allow glass to cool completely before handling."

Goop called the claim "frivolous" in response, telling NBC it was "an attempt to secure an outsized payout from a press-heavy product."

"We stand behind the brands we carry and the safety of the products we sell," they added.

The company said the candle was evaluated by the co-creators of the product Heretic, who examined its safety "through industry-standard testing."

Heretic is not named in the lawsuit, according to TMZ.

Still, Watson is suing Goop for its "limited warning" on the product description, a breach of warranty and products liability.

The Texas man is also putting together a class-action seeking damages for over $5 million ($AUD 6.42 million), claiming Goop "knew the candles were defective", as reported by NBC News.

Watson claims the lawsuit will support other consumers who "through no fault of their own, purchased defective and dangerous vagina-scented candles".

In an article for The Guardian earlier this year, British woman Jody Thompson claimed her 'This Smells Like My Vagina' candle exploded in January.

"Flames roared half a metre out of the jar and bits of molten wax flew out as it fizzed and spat," she wrote.

"Luckily, I had placed it on concrete, at the base of what was once a fireplace."

Neither Watson nor Thompson reported suffering any injuries.

A Goop spokesperson told People at the time the company vetted the products it sold and made "customer safety a priority".

"We've alerted the manufacturer to the woman's issue and have also reached out to her to send her some Goop products to help pass the days in quarantine," they added.

This is not the first time Paltrow's vagina-themed products have sparked controversy.

After falsely claiming their jade and quartz "yoni egg" products could assist with vaginal health, Goop paid $145,000 ($AUD 186,200) in a California settlement in 2018, as the claims were deemed "unsubstantiated."

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