Hollywood socialite accused of fleeing Gwyneth Paltrow’s Hamptons home after ‘catastrophic’ diarrhea counts Jeff Bezos and Demi Moore among her friends

Derek Blasberg has become the talk of Hollywood after he was accused of being the mystery guest who lost control of his bowels in a bed at Gwyneth Paltrow’s Hamptons home.

While not as famous as Paltrow, 51, his presence in her lavish mansion comes as no surprise.

The 42-year-old fashion journalist and author has cemented his status as a close friend to famous names including Jeff Bezos, Kate Hudson, Karlie Kloss, Kendall Jenner and Sienna Miller after years of rubbing shoulders with the world’s biggest stars.

But despite maintaining a relatively private life unlike some of his A-list friends, his recent toilet troubles have put him firmly in the spotlight.

Last week, the internet was sent into a frenzy when a blind item in a popular gossip newsletter claimed that Goop founder Paltrow had to clean up someone’s “Ozempic-induced diarrhea” at her home.

Insiders later told DailyMail.com that Blasberg – once described as “one of the best-connected men in showbiz” – was the culprit and had conveniently blamed the incident on the popular weight-loss miracle drug before allegedly fleeing the property.

“It’s not Ozempic, it’s just what he told everyone,” the insider said, before revealing how the secret made its way across the Hamptons set.

“Gwyneth told Oprah, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld, and Larry David,” they continued.

“It’s shocking how many people know this story and how he managed to keep it out of the Post…probably thanks to his best friend (socialite Dasha Zhukova) – whose mother just married Rupert Murdoch.”

Indeed, Blasberg met Zhukova in 2009 for a profile that appeared in the July issue of Interview magazine.

At the time, she was known as the ex-girlfriend of tennis ace Marat Safin and had begun a relationship with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

The couple spoke about Zhukova’s opening of the Center for Contemporary Culture, known as The Garage, in Moscow and the friendship immediately blossomed – the pair attended high-profile events and were photographed on holiday together in the years that followed.

He then produced a new portrait of her in December 2015 for the Gagosian gallery, where he works as a senior executive.

The story is one of many similar interactions that turned into lasting friendships for Blasberg as he rose through the ranks as a fashion journalist.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Blasberg moved to New York City in 2000 to attend New York University.

A graduate in dramatic literature and journalism in 2004, he began his career as an assistant at Vogue.

During his career at the magazine, he became the youngest editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar and saw his fame rise through his role as Vanity Fair’s Our Man on the Street.

Having also worked as editor-in-chief of V and VMan, and contributed to The New York Times, WSJ Magazine, Elle and Glamour, he was a very familiar face to many of Hollywood’s elite and quickly found himself welcomed into their inner circles.

His face became more recognizable after he hosted a reboot of CNN Style in 2016.

Guests on the show included Emma Watson, Karl Lagerfeld, Kendall Jenner, Charlize Theron, Anna Wintour and many more.

Previously, he co-hosted Fashionably Late with Rachel Zoe and, in 2011, appeared alongside Alexa Chung on 24 Hour Catwalk.

The author most recently worked as head of fashion and beauty partnerships at YouTube and is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, and several international editions of Vogue.

That’s why Blasberg doesn’t hesitate to spend time with Paltrow at her five-bedroom home on Long Island, where she hosted her wedding to Brad Falchuk.

In 2022, the fashion expert posted a snap of himself and the actress celebrating her 50th birthday at the sprawling property.

Describing how the pair became friends to The Cut, Paltrow admitted she wondered if Blasberg was just a professional profiteer.

“When I first met him, I was a little dubious… I was like, ‘Are you the professional best friend of celebrities? And why are you everywhere at once? What’s your problem?'”

“After ten seconds, I fell completely in love with him,” she said.

Blasberg himself is known for throwing star-studded parties, with his birthday parties often serving as warm-ups for the Met Gala.

For her 42nd birthday in April, stars including Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson, Jake Gyllenhaal and Andy Cohen were in attendance.

While his 2022 party brought together Bezos, Hailey Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.

Blasberg, author of Very Classy: Even More Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady, currently resides in New York with her partner, Imaginary co-founder Nick Brown.

In 2021, the couple welcomed three-year-old twins Elizabeth Grace and Frederick Noah via surrogate.

Sharing the good news with the world, Blasberg wrote, “Welcome to the world, Grace and Noah. I am honored and humbled by the arrival of these two beautiful and glorious angels. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to @nickbrown for being a wonderful life partner, best friend and now co-parent.”

“Thank you to our wonderful surrogate for making this long-held dream come true. Thank you to everyone who has raised or started their own non-traditional family and paved the way for us to start our own.

“And thank you to our incredible support network of friends, family, colleagues, healthcare professionals and everyone else (even lawyers!) who joined us on this journey.”

He added, “Whoever said it takes a village to raise a child was not a same-sex parent who had children through an out-of-state surrogate at the end of a global pandemic. It took so many villages (and counties, and states, etc.) to build our family and we are so deeply grateful. That happiness is real.”