Gwyneth Paltrow On the witness stand Friday, insisted that a Ski collision 2016 at a luxury Utah ski resort wasn’t her fault and claimed it started when the man who was suing her hit her in the back.
The actress turned around lifestyle influencertestified that the fall shocked her and the way the man’s skis bounced between her two legs initially worried her that she “raped“, called.
“There was a body pushing against me and a very strange growl,” he said. “My brain was trying to understand what was happening,” he continued.
Paltrow later clarified that after her panic, she realized in a split second that the sudden collision wasn’t sexual in nature.
After sitting in court for four days, Paltrow remained calm and collected on the witness stand for more than two hours. The Park City jury froze as she categorically denied liability for the collision.
That is expected Terry Sandersonthe retired optometrist who is suing her will give a contrary version of the accident if he takes the stand Monday.
During Paltrow’s long-awaited testimony, the Goop founder and CEO calmly and repeatedly said that Sanderson, who was sitting in court several feet away, collided with her, resulting in the two skiers being separated in the novice race Paltrow above and Sanderson below.
In the seconds after the collision, Paltrow admitted that she yelled at Sanderson and didn’t stop to ask if he was okay. Paltrow testified that she was standing near the mountain when one of her family’s four ski instructors promised to give Sanderson her contact information and file an incident report.
In an exchange that touched on recurring themes at the trial, Sanderson’s attorneys attempted to describe the decision as a reflection of a celebrity’s negligencewhile Paltrow insisted that she, and not the 76-year-old who was suing her, was the injured party.
“You have to keep in mind that when you’re a victim of an accident, your psychology isn’t necessarily thinking about the person who committed it,” he said.
To alert the jury to Paltrow’s wealth, Sanderson’s attorneys questioned Paltrow about the award of ski instructors in the Nobel Prize Hirsch Valley Resort and her decision to leave the mountain for a massage on the day of the accident.
Paltrow’s attorneys protested her participation in a reenactment
Sanderson and his multiple legal team fanned out across the courtroom possibly recreate the accident for the jurywhose members were perked up after days of yawning at medical jargon-filled testimonies about theirs broken ribs, concussion and brain damage.
Paltrow’s attorneys refused her participation in such a re-enactment and let her sit on the witness stand and watch as the attorney cross-examined her to play the role Oscar-winning actress.
Next week, Paltrow’s team may call her back to the stand, along with medical experts, ski instructors and her two sons, Moses and Apple.
The test touched on topics ranging from skier etiquette to celebrity power and charging. The amount of money at stake for both parties pales in comparison to the typical legal costs of a multi-year litigation.a private security team and a multi-expert process.
Throughout the week, Paltrow’s Utah legal team has called for specific restrictions, including the limitation of photographs both in the courtroom and in the outdoor public parking lot, where a rope blocks Paltrow’s entrances and exits. Unlike most trials, the court did not publish a list of witnesses.
That’s what Paltrow’s attorneys argue she didn’t cause the accident and that the extent of Sanderson’s injuries is exaggerated. They have raised questions about Sanderson’s motivation for suing Paltrow and investigated her family members about their communications after the accident about her celebrity and his closeness to her.
Two of Sanderson’s daughters were asked if their father thought it was “cool” to bump into a celebrity like Paltrow, characterizations they denied.
After the crash, Sanderson emailed his daughters with the subject line, “I’m famous…at what cost?” The eldest daughter, Shae Herath, replied, “I can’t believe this is all on GoPro either. “
On Friday, Herath attempted to clean up the recordings while raising questions about the possibility that the crash was recorded by a bystander’s helmet cam, intriguing both the Park City judges and online viewers, who were watching live footage of the crash Watch the movie star’s trial.
Herath testified Friday that he didn’t know if recordings existed, and said his email referred to an earlier phone conversation in which his father told him he assumed there must be footage of someone who collided with a GoPro during the crowded race.
The camera is a common accessory for skiers at resorts like Deer Valley.
While Sanderson’s attorneys have focused on their client’s deteriorating health, Paltrow’s legal team has intrigued the jury with recurring questions the mysterious lost GoPro images. Since then, no video recording has been found or introduced into evidence.
Outdoor athletes, including skiers, often use GoPro cameras to capture sports activities.
The proceedings have looked into Sanderson, 76,’s medical history and personality changes, and lawyers doubt it his poor health and estranged relationships were derived by collision or the natural aging process.
After a judge dismissed Sanderson’s earlier lawsuit for $3.1 million, Sanderson later sought damages “more than $300,000”.
Paltrow countered a token $1 and legal feesand one of his attorneys repeatedly held a $1 bill in front of the jury.
Sanderson’s attorneys compared the token $1 claim to a counterclaim he had filed Taylor Swift in 2017 against a radio host for the same amount to raise awareness of Paltrow’s celebrity.
When asked if she was friends with Swift despite her attorney’s objections, Paltrow said no, but she is “friendly” with the singer.