GWYNETH Paltrow says being famous is like being in a "bloody, dehumanising" war.

The 'Iron Man 3' star, who split from husband Chris Martin in March after 10 years of marriage, admits it's taken her a long time to develop a thick skin and learn how to stop her critics from getting her down.

The 41-year-old actress told technology news website Re/code at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on Tuesday (27.05.14): "You come across [online comments] about yourself and about your friends, and it's a very dehumanising thing."

The Oscar-winner hopes Internet trolls will soon be a thing of the past.

She said: "It's almost like how, in war, you go through this bloody, dehumanising thing, and then something is defined out of it. My hope is, as we get out of it, we'll reach the next level of conscience."

Gwyneth believes people should take a long hard look at themselves before they post negative things about her online.

She said: "It's taken me a long time to get to the point where I can see these things and not take it as a personal affront and a hurt. I see myself as a chalkboard or a whiteboard or a screen, and someone is just putting up their own projection on it."

She added: "It has nothing to do with me. They have an internal object, and they're putting it on me. I kind of look at it as, 'Wow this is an interesting social experiment.' You're talking about a blind stranger having feelings about you. It can only be projection."