Gwyneth Paltrow just declared war on dill. During a recent appearance on the popular web series Hot Ones, where celebrities eat increasingly spicy chicken wings while answering questions, the actress and Goop founder shared some strong opinions about herbs. While tears streamed down her face from the heat, she casually mentioned that dill “should be illegal.” The internet immediately exploded with people either defending their beloved pickle-making herb or rallying behind Paltrow’s passionate stance. This isn’t the first time she’s voiced her hatred for those delicate green fronds either.
Paltrow’s surprising herb hierarchy revealed on camera
When Hot Ones host Sean Evans asked about her favorite herb, Paltrow didn’t hesitate to share her rankings. She mentioned loving nearly all herbs, with basil taking the top spot. She described basil as “fragrant” and “optimistic,” saying it smells like summer and tomatoes. Her enthusiasm for basil was clear, even as she struggled through wings covered in increasingly intense hot sauces. The conversation took a turn when she got to the bottom of her list.
Dill came in dead last, and she didn’t hold back. According to Paltrow’s assessment, dill “ruins everything and anything it touches.” When Evans pressed her about whether the herb’s dominant nature was the problem, she doubled down, calling it “dominant and just bad.” She even admitted she doesn’t understand why anyone would enjoy it. This level of herb hatred is pretty unusual, especially since most people reserve their strongest food opinions for cilantro.
This wasn’t her first dill-bashing moment
Paltrow’s dill hatred goes way back. In 2016, while promoting her cookbook “It’s All Easy” during an interview with ET, she was asked about foods she dislikes. Without missing a beat, she named dill again. She told the interviewer that while dill isn’t really a food, “it really offends me.” That’s right, this herb doesn’t just taste bad to her. It personally offends her existence. Most people might just avoid an ingredient they don’t like, but Paltrow has made her disdain for dill a consistent part of her public persona.
The fact that she’s been vocal about this for nearly a decade shows this isn’t just a passing phase. She’s committed to her anti-dill stance, bringing it up whenever food preferences come into conversation. For someone who has built an empire around wellness and lifestyle choices, having such a strong opinion about a humble herb might seem odd. But it’s become part of her brand, whether she intended it to or not. Her consistency on this topic has turned it into a memorable quirk.
The internet has strong feelings about her take
As soon as clips from the Hot Ones episode started circulating, people took sides. Some rushed to defend dill, pointing out all the dishes that wouldn’t be the same without it. Matzo ball soup, tzatziki, ranch dressing, pierogi, and borscht all depend on dill’s distinctive taste. Others pointed out that an entire category of pickles bears the herb’s name. Without dill, we wouldn’t have dill pickles, and that alone seems like reason enough to keep it around.
On the other side, some people admitted they’ve always secretly hated dill too. There’s actually an entire subreddit dedicated to dill hatred, where people complain about its “repulsive taste and gag-inducing smell.” These folks felt validated by Paltrow’s comments, finally having a celebrity spokesperson for their anti-dill movement. The debate highlights how personal taste really is, especially when it comes to herbs with strong, distinct characteristics. Fresh herbs in general tend to be divisive because we’re so used to the milder dried versions.
Cilantro usually gets all the hate instead
Most herb debates center around cilantro, which many people describe as tasting like soap. There’s even a genetic component to cilantro hatred, with certain genes making it taste absolutely awful to some people. You’d think someone with strong herb opinions would fall into the cilantro-hating camp, but Paltrow actually likes cilantro. During the same Hot Ones interview, she confirmed she has no problem with cilantro and reserves all her herbal rage exclusively for dill.
This makes her stance even more unusual. She’s essentially going against the grain of typical herb hatred. While millions of people can’t stand cilantro in their tacos or pho, Paltrow happily eats it. But put a sprig of dill near her food, and she’s ready to call the authorities. It’s a reminder that taste preferences don’t always follow predictable patterns. What one person finds refreshing and bright, another person might find completely overwhelming and unpleasant. There’s no accounting for personal preference when it comes to what we eat.
Some argue tarragon deserves the hate more
Not everyone agrees that dill is the worst herb out there. Some food writers have suggested that tarragon deserves the title instead. Tarragon has a strong licorice-like taste that can overpower dishes just as easily as dill. It shows up in classic French cooking, particularly in bearnaise sauce, and in some Eastern European dishes. Critics of tarragon say it ruins green goddess dressing and has no business being in hollandaise sauce.
The tarragon defense raises an interesting point about herb hierarchies. Maybe dill gets unfairly targeted because it’s more common in everyday American cooking. People encounter dill in pickles, potato salad, and at their local deli. Tarragon, being less common in casual dining, might fly under the radar despite being equally divisive. The herbs we hate might just be the ones we’re most exposed to. If tarragon showed up in as many dishes as dill does, it might face the same level of public scrutiny and debate.
Paltrow’s other controversial food opinions
The dill drama is just one entry in a long list of questionable food takes from Paltrow. She’s famous for describing bone broth as a complete lunch, even though a cup contains only about 40 calories. She’s recommended elimination diets that cut out coffee, alcohol, dairy, sugar, shellfish, deepwater fish, potatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, corn, wheat, meat, gluten, and soy. She’s claimed that salmon salads can detoxify the body, which isn’t how detoxification works.
She’s also made headlines for saying she’d rather smoke crack than eat spray cheese. These statements have earned her a reputation for having unusual and often restrictive views on food. When someone with this track record declares war on an herb, it’s worth taking the opinion with a grain of salt. Her extreme positions on food and wellness have made her a polarizing figure. Some people follow her advice religiously through Goop, while others see her recommendations as disconnected from how most people actually eat and live.
What dill actually brings to your food
Dill has a distinctive sweet, grassy taste with slight anise notes. It’s part of the same family as celery and parsley. The herb works particularly well with fish, especially salmon, and adds brightness to creamy dishes like sour cream-based dips. Its tender fronds can be chopped and sprinkled on roasted vegetables, stirred into salads, or used as a garnish for soups. Fresh dill is much more potent than dried dill, which might explain why some people find it overwhelming.
The herb has been used in cooking for thousands of years, with evidence of its use in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. In Scandinavian and Eastern European cooking, it’s absolutely essential. Gravlax wouldn’t be gravlax without dill. The same goes for traditional Polish cucumber salad and Russian dishes. The herb’s ability to cut through rich, fatty foods makes it valuable in many traditional recipes. Whether you personally like it or not, dill has earned its place in food history and continues to be beloved by millions of home cooks and professional chefs.
The psychology behind strong food aversions
Having an intense dislike for a particular food or herb is pretty common. Sometimes these aversions develop from a bad experience, like getting sick after eating something. Other times, certain compounds in foods interact with our taste receptors in ways that feel unpleasant. Genetic factors can play a role too, affecting how we perceive bitterness, sweetness, and other taste qualities. Some people are supertasters with more taste buds than average, making them more sensitive to strong tastes.
Food aversions can also be psychological. If someone tells you they hate a certain ingredient before you try it, you might be primed to dislike it too. Cultural background influences what tastes familiar and comforting versus strange and off-putting. The fact that Paltrow finds dill so offensive it should be illegal might seem dramatic, but she’s expressing what many people feel about various foods. We all have that one ingredient we can’t stand, whether it’s black licorice, blue cheese, mushrooms, or apparently dill. The intensity of her reaction just happens to be very public.
Will restaurants and chefs care about her opinion
Despite Paltrow’s influence in wellness circles, it’s unlikely that chefs will stop using dill anytime soon. The herb is too important in too many traditional dishes. Greek restaurants will continue making tzatziki with dill. Jewish delis will still garnish matzo ball soup with it. Scandinavian restaurants won’t abandon their gravlax recipes. Home cooks who love the taste won’t suddenly stop buying it at the grocery store just because a celebrity doesn’t like it.
If anything, the controversy might make people more curious about dill. Some folks who’ve never paid much attention to it might try it specifically because of all the debate. Others might realize they’ve been enjoying dill all along without really thinking about it. The pickle industry certainly isn’t worried. Dill pickles remain one of the most popular snack foods in America, with millions of jars sold every year. One person’s passionate hatred, even a famous person’s, isn’t going to change the fundamental role that dill plays in cooking around the world. The herb has survived for thousands of years and will probably survive this controversy too.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s declaration that dill should be illegal has sparked a surprisingly passionate debate about herbs. Whether you side with her or rush to defend the delicate green fronds, the controversy highlights how personal our food preferences really are. Next time you’re eating a dill pickle or seasoning your salmon, you might think about where you fall in the great dill debate. At the very least, it’s a reminder that even celebrities have strong opinions about everyday ingredients, and sometimes those opinions are just as divisive as their wellness advice.
