Robert Downey Jr. is not letting Gwyneth Paltrow off the hook for not knowing her own Marvel movies or costars.
During The Hollywood Reporter’s 2025 Women in Entertainment breakfast gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Wednesday, Downey Jr. gave a speech honoring his former onscreen love interest as she accepted the 20th annual Sherry Lansing Leadership Award.
And while most of his remarks were heartfelt, he also made sure to tease Paltrow for her constant confusion over the Marvel Cinematic Universe — especially her own movie appearances.
“[She’s] impossibly intelligent, yet forever confused by the basic tenets of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its inhabitants,” Downey Jr. said, according to THR.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. in ‘Iron Man’.
Zade Rosenthal/Marvel Studios
He then revealed she once asked him who Tom Holland was, despite starring alongside him several times.
“‘Who’s that?'” Downey Jr. remembered, to which he responded, “‘That’s Spider-Man. He said his name was Peter. His character’s name is Peter. He’s Tom Holland. You’ve done four movies with him.'”
Downey Jr. then praised Paltrow for “building [her company] Goop between takes on the set of Iron Man,” while also raising her kids and consistently working in Hollywood.
Paltrow and Downey Jr. played love interests Pepper Potts and Tony Stark, respectively, across many MCU movies, beginning in 2008’s Iron Man through 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Despite her lengthy Marvel resume, Paltrow has gone viral many times for not remembering key details, including the fact that she was literally in some films.
Paltrow got into a hilarious exchange with MCU director Jon Favreau and celebrity chef Roy Choi in the first episode of Netflix’s The Chef Show in 2019, where she confidently claimed she wasn’t in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
“Remember when we were in Spider-Man?” Favreau asked Paltrow.
“We weren’t in Spider-Man,” Paltrow responded.
“Yes we were,” Favreau said.
“Homecoming,” Choi helpfully added.
“You were in Spider-Man,” Favreau said again.
“No, I was in Avengers,” Paltrow responded.
“You were in Spider-Man also,” Favreau pointed out.
“What?” Paltrow asked.
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“Remember, it’s Spider-Man at the end, and Tom Holland’s there, and you’re gonna walk out and do a press conference?” Favreau prompted.
“Oh yes!” Paltrow finally exclaimed.
“That was Spider-Man,” Favreau said.
“That was Spider-Man??” Paltrow realized. “Oh my god.”
More recently, Paltrow exposed her MCU confusion again by publicly admitting that she doesn’t understand Downey Jr.’s upcoming onscreen return as new character Dr. Doom. In July 2024, Paltrow posted a comment on his Instagram post revealing his return: “I don’t get it, are you a baddie now?”
Hopefully by the time Avengers: Doomsday comes out on Dec. 18, 2026, Paltrow will have studied up on her MCU lore.