Apple Martin Addresses Viral Debutante Ball Moment and the Downsides of Being a 'Celebrity Child'
The 20-year-old daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin recently spoke to Interview Magazine and shared that she's still "working on" not feeling so worried about public scrutiny.
When asked about her highly publicized debutante ball appearance late last year and the public discussion that followed online, Apple responded, "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 [reading] Discipline and Punish [by Michel Foucault], which is a great book, but talking about the surveillance state," she continued. "I feel like I've grown up with that, which is really scary and makes me very anxious about making mistakes."
Apple also recalled being "discouraged from doing anything in the public eye," recalling thinking, ''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," she continued. "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."
Apple's comments come after she faced "mean girl" accusations last year after a TikTok surfaced from her society debut at Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris on Nov. 30, 2024.
Related: Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's Daughter Apple Wears Valentino Dress That Took 750 Hours to Make for Le Bal Debut
In the video posted by Paris Match, Apple jokingly stepped in front of fellow debutante Countess Aliénor Loppin de Montmort as she had photos taken, which sparked controversy among social media users.
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Loppin de Montmort quickly came to Apple's defense after the controversy on Dec. 6 and exclusively told PEOPLE that the comments were not true and that '[Apple's] genuinely the nicest girl ever!"
"She really doesn't deserve an ounce of what she's getting," Loppin de Montmort said at the time. 'She was the nicest girl ever towards not only me but all the debs!"
Related: French Countess Reveals What It Was Really Like Behind the Scenes of Debutante Ball with Apple Martin, Sophie Kodjoe (Exclusive)
Loppin de Montmort also spoke to PEOPLE about her friendships with the other debutantes on Dec. 9, sharing that everyone involved, including Nicole Ari Parker's daughter Sophie and Sophia Loren's granddaughter Lucia Sofia Ponti, was "so, so nice."
"We were really happy to have a group of girls that honestly didn't care," she continued. "We were all like, 'We are all just going to have a really nice time, and then whatever happens later in the media, we don't care.'"
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