Gwyneth Paltrow takes the stand in Utah ski crash trial
Gwyneth Paltrow took the stand Friday in Utah after being sued in a 2016 ski crash that’s been referred to as a “hit and run.”
The retired optometrist is seeking $300,000 in damages, following a $3.1 million lawsuit that was previously dropped. Paltrow has denied the allegations and in a counterclaim said it was Sanderson who crashed into her.
Paltrow is seeking “symbolic damages in the amount of $1, plus her costs and attorney’s fees to defend this meritless claim,” her lawsuit said. The actress vowed to donate any additional funds potentially awarded by the jury to a charitable organization.
The trial began Tuesday and is set for eight days.
“I was hit by Mr. Sanderson, and he was at fault,” Paltrow told the court almost immediately upon taking the stand.
On the stand, she established herself as an “intermediate” skier and said she had been skiing since her childhood.
The Academy Award-winning “Shakespeare in Love” star also disputed Sanderson’s claim she did a “hit-and-run” and fled the scene following the crash.
Paltrow told jurors her ski instructor had told her that he would give Sanderson her information.
“He said, ‘You should go ski down’ because my kids were waiting for me,” she explained.
When asked by the plaintiff’s lawyer if she was aware that the rules of skiing required her to leave her name and information after a crash, Paltrow said: “I don’t think I was aware of the rule.
“I would not have left the scene without leaving my information, and my information was left,” she added.
Paltrow, who punctuated her testimony with sips of Perrier, seemed to have the court gallery rapt, and at least one juror was smiling during her testimony, despite appearing smug at times.
The actress said she thought someone might be trying to sexually assault her in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
“I was skiing and two skis came between my skis, forcing my legs apart, and then there was a body pressing against me,” she explained. “And there was a very strange grunting noise. So my brain was trying to make sense of what was happening.
“I thought, ‘Is this a practical joke? Is someone, like, doing something perverted? This is really, really strange.’ My mind was going very, very quickly, and I was trying to ascertain what was happening,” she continued.
Sanderson was “groaning and grunting in a very disturbing way,” she said.
“Our bodies were almost spooning. And I moved away quickly,” Paltrow added.
Sanderson’s lawyer Kristin VanOrman then attempted to reenact the 2016 crash — and even tried to have both Paltrow and Sanderson help her recreate the moment the two collided, which the judge nixed.
The exchanges between Paltrow and VanOrman turned testy. After Paltrow said that “Mr. Sanderson categorically hit me on that ski slope and that is the truth,” the lawyer responded: “And I’m sure that that’s what you believe.”
“Because it’s the truth,” Paltrow hit back.
During a recess, VanOrman told the judge that Paltrow “lied under oath a number of times” during the short time she had been on the stand, eliciting a massive gasp from the actress.
“Your honor, that is slanderous, and I want it withdrawn this moment,” Paltrow’s lawyer shot back.
Gwyneth Paltrow takes the stand in Utah ski crash trial. Gwyneth Paltrow takes the stand in Utah ski crash trial
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