When the going gets tough, it’s nice to know you still have someone on your side.

For the oft-criticised Gwyneth Paltrow, that person is her mother Blythe Danner.

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The 72-year-old actress has attempted to explain the remarkable amount of online hate directed towards Paltrow during an interview on the US Today show.

“I think she’s so accomplished that people get kind of intimidated by it,” Danner explained.

The seasoned star, who has appeared in the Meet the Parents films alongside Robert De Niro, said she was lucky she didn’t have to face the criticism her daughter endured.

“I am so blessed that I’m old,” Danner said. “I don’t know how to do any of it, and I don’t look for it, because I know so much of it is just trying to sell papers or whatever that’s called over the Internet.”

Danner also praised her daughter’s parenting skills and charitable nature.

“I know that she’s the most extraordinary girl who can do everything,” she told host Natalie Morales.

“Incredible mother! She’s raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for my husband’s oral cancer foundation – things she doesn’t talk about a lot. She’s becoming a great environmentalist. I’m so proud of her.

“Great cook, great mom, great actress.”