Madonna's party sends Gwyneth and Trudie staggering home (and this time it's NOT the heels)

Daily Mail, UK/May 17, 2008

Show me the way to go home: Gwyneth Paltrow staggered out looking a little worse for wear. Perhaps it was the free-flowing refreshments, or it could even have been religious fervour.

But whatever the reason, an evening with Madonna left some of her famous friends looking a little unsteady on their feet.

The singer, who is 50 in August, held a fund-raising event for the mystic Jewish religion kabbalah attended by, among others, Stella McCartney, Gwyneth Paltrow and Sting's wife Trudie Styler.

They poured out on to the streets at 1am with Gwyneth and Trudie so unsteady on their feet they needed to be held up.

They were joined by Madonna's team of fitness experts - who train most of her girlfriends at the gym she had built next to her home in Bayswater, West London. The fund-raising event was held at a private loft-style venue in Soho, where guests were played acoustic kabbalah music.

Madonna's fund-raising in relation to the religion has not been without controversy in the past.

In February, she hosted a New York event in aid of HIV and Aids orphans in Malawi, the country where her adopted son David was born in 2005.

Among the stars at the high-profile event were Miss Paltrow, Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jennifer Lopez.

The fund-raiser was held in the grounds of the UN headquarters and raised £2.5 million for the Raising Malawi charity.

But the UN distanced itself after officials discovered the founder of the African charity, Michael Berg, was also co-founder of the Kabbalah centre where Madonna worships.

One high-profile American showbusiness writer accused the Raising Malawi charity of being a "front" to raise funds for Berg's kabbalah centre in Los Angeles.

In her annual accounts released in 2006 it was revealed that Madonna had given £500,000 a year to the Kabbalah Centre for the past five years.

And that amount can only have increased, especially after she recently signed a £120 million deal to make three albums.

Happy hostess: Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie after the party

Interestingly, Madonna's lawyer told the High Court in Malawi on Thursday - the day of her party in Soho - that she could not attend an adoption hearing because she was "too busy" with other engagements.

A source said: "The event was a get-together organised by Madonna for the Sisterhood - as the girls call themselves - to celebrate a few things in their lives.

"Madonna has just brought out a new album, Gwyneth has just brought out a new film, and Stella was celebrating getting Heather (Mills) out of her father's life."

And despite their late night, and the refreshments consumed, most were back at the gym within hours to start repairing the damage with a brisk workout.

Gwyneth arrived in a striking pair of patent black shoes, cushioned with a plaster on the heel.

Who moved the pavement? Trudie Styler takes a tumble

But by the time the smiling 35-year-old left, clutching a bottle of water, sweat marks stained her purple work out top.

Sources have revealed that the actress is now exploring the religion herself.

Gwyneth and her party host even share a personal trainer - fitness guru Tracy Anderson.

The pint sized blonde is credited with helping Gwyneth get back her slim figure after the birth of baby Moses in 2006, when she was left with a weight gain of more than 2 1/2 stone.

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