The actress spoke at a recent technology conference, telling journalists that she felt being attacked online was similar to being in a war.
She said: ‘It’s taken me a long time to get to the point where I can see these things and not take it as a personal affront and a hurt. I see myself as a chalkboard or a whiteboard or a screen, and someone is just putting up their own projection on it.’
US Green Beret Sergeant Brian Sikes hit back at the actress in a piece for Clash Daily.
He wrote:‘I could see how you, and others like you in “the biz,” could be so insecure and mentally weak that you could pair the difficulty of your life on twitter to my brothers who have had their limbs ripped off and seen their friends shot, blown up, burned and disfigured, or wake up every morning in pain – while just starting the day is a challenge.’
‘How about our wives? The ones that sign on to be there for us through thick and thin, that help us to shake the hardships of war upon our return? And do all this while being mothers to our kids, keeping bills in order because we are always gone, and keeping our lives glued together.’
He added: ‘They do all this, by the way, without a team of accountants, nanny’s, personal assistants, and life coaches. Yeah, reading a mean tweet is just like all that.’
And he’s not the only one. A representative for charity Veterans For Peace also hit out at Gwyneth’s comments, telling TMZ: ‘She doesn't understand what it means to be in real danger ... Not someone talking to you on the Internet, but actually having bullets shot at you.’