Days ago, the trial regarding a 2016 incident in Park City, Utah began. Oscar winning actress and lifestyle entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly hit 76 year-old retired optometrist Terry Sanderson on the slopes, leaving him with what he claims included “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement.”
Paltrow alleges the exact opposite–that Sanderson actually hit her. The 2016 incident allegedly occurred at Deer Valley Resort in Utah. Sanderson is seeking $300,000 in damages, and Paltrow is countersuing for $1 and the cost of her legal fees. In her testimony, Paltrow revealed that she did not immediately seek medical attention following the alleged collision, and said that her knee simply felt like it had been “stretched too far.”
Paltrow additionally responded to questioning about the $1 fee for damages by stating that it was “symbolic because the damages would actually be more.” Paltrow’s team continues to assert that Sanderson is lying about the nature of the crash so as to exploit Paltrow’s wealth and ruin her reputation. Sanderson’s legal team continued to grill her about her intentions to have Sanderson pay her legal fees.
The trial is also set to hear testimonies from Paltrow’s husband, screenwriter Brad Falchuk, and her two children, 18-year-old Apple Martin and 16-year-old Moses Martin. The family all witnessed the alleged incident. On the witness stand, Paltrow said, “I feel very sorry for him [Sanderson], it seems like he has had a very difficult life, but I did not cause the accident.” The lawyer continued to ask her if she was denying the incident because of a struggle to take criticism, to which Paltrow responded, “after all these years of being in the public eye, I think I take it relatively well.”
LIVE NOW: Gwyneth Paltrow takes the stand in the trial over a 2016 skiing crash https://t.co/vf9Z0Ruwg5
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 24, 2023
Gwyneth continued to go into detail about the fateful day of the incident. She confirmed that the people present were her step children Brody and Isabella Falchuk, her children Apple and Moses, and her now-husband Brad Falchuk. She was also accused of not wearing the proper protective gear of a helmet and goggles while skiing, but a photo from the day used in court proved otherwise. Text messages from the day shown in court explain that she was teaching her children to skii, and that she was introducing her children to Falchuk’s children for the first time that day.
The trial is captivating social media, with many praising Gwyneth’s cooperation with the trial in the first place.
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Gwyneth is such a genuine and believable witness and much better behaved and cooperative than the prosecution’s witnesses. So if Gwyneth is cooperating and answering directly and the daughter’s wouldn’t answer any questions, who should the jury believe?
— Valerie Archibald Embrey (@ValerieArchib15) March 24, 2023
She is amazing. So elegant and composed. Paltrow should have sued for more.
— Marcio Delgado (@marcio_delgado) March 24, 2023
Others feel that Paltrow is more concerned about her reputation than Sanderson’s well being, believing that she did in fact hit him and simply has access to a better legal team to defend her.
Any empathetic person shows concern for an injured party, particularly an elderly person
— eve gerber (@eveagerber) March 24, 2023
Other onlookers are referencing another recent Paltrow controversy. She appeared on the “Dear Media” podcast and discussed what many felt was a highly restrictive diet.
shes so dehydrated and hungry i cant breathe
— fan account (@houseofknee) March 24, 2023
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Meanwhile, some observed her facial expressions and felt that she was smirking and making a mockery of the whole trial.
This Gwyneth Paltrow trial has made one thing clear: she’s an awful actress pic.twitter.com/72Vs3xbtxh
— Def Noodles (@defnoodles) March 24, 2023
One Twitter user poked fun at Paltrow’s 80s-style glasses resemblance to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s pair.
Gwyneth Paltrow looks like she’s on trial in 1987 for hiring a hitman to kill her husband. pic.twitter.com/gUd7cUAdXF
— Jenny Johnson (@JennyJohnsonHi5) March 22, 2023
The trial remains ongoing, and Paltrow’s family members are yet to take the stand.
