Robert Downey Jr. shared some heartfelt words for Gwyneth Paltrow at The Hollywood Reporter’s 2025 Women in Entertainment breakfast gala, before presenting her with the 20th annual Sherry Lansing Leadership Award. During the speech, the Iron Man star snuck in some playful jabs at his MCU costar for often forgetting plotlines and characters in the franchise.

Robert Downey Jr. teases Gwyneth Paltrow for confusion over MCU & her costars

Downey Jr. began the speech by calling Paltrow “a bit of a dichotomy.” He teased that she is “impossibly intelligent, yet forever confused by the basic tenets of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its inhabitants.”

Paltrow has shared the screen with Downey Jr. on multiple MCU movies, playing Tony Stark’s love interest, Pepper Potts.

Downey Jr. looked back on how Paltrow once asked, “Who’s that?” while working with another MCU costar. The actor jokingly recalled how he had to clarify, “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.”

The Oppenheimer star then began gushing about Paltrow’s stellar career, reminding everyone of her Oscar win for 1998’s Shakespeare in Love. He also praised her for successfully juggling her acting career while being an entrepreneur and taking care of her kids. “She was birthing and building Goop between takes on the set of Iron Man,” Downey Jr. recalled.

The actor went on to state how Paltrow’s separation from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin “introduced the planet to the possibility of ‘conscious uncoupling.’” He also took a dig at people criticising Paltrow for having a “polarizing public persona,” calling it “a word used by dingbats to falsely describe powerful women who demonstrate decades of irrefutable relevance and reinvention.”

Downey Jr. ended on a poignant note, showering Paltrow with more praise before declaring, “It’s time to recognize … Gwyneth fuggin’ Paltrow.”

Paltrow has recently returned to the big screen, starring in the 2025 sports comedy drama, Marty Supreme. The film stars Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, with Paltrow as Kay Stone.