On the stand, Paltrow shares her side of an alleged Utah ski crash she's being sued for.
In one of the more explosive moments of the trial, Gwyneth Paltrow's jaw dropped in utter shock after opposing counsel accused the actress of lying multiple times while under oath.
The moment happened Friday as Paltrow took the stand for the first time in her ski collision trial brought forward by plaintiff Terry Sanderson in Park City, Utah, where Sanderson's attorney, Kristin VanOrman, argued she should be allowed to question Paltrow whether she's clumsy. And it was while making that argument when VanOrman said Paltrow has "lied under oath a number of times" in previous sworn depositions.
Paltrow's jaw immediately dropped and she shook her head, as her attorney, Steve Owens, immediately got up and called the comment "slanderous" and wanted it withdrawn from the record. After admonishing Owens for talking over him, Judge Kent R. Holmberg asked VanOrman if she wanted to rephrase her statement, prompting VanOrman to say, "She has made prior inconsistent statements during her deposition."
Eventually, the judge sided with Paltrow's attorney, who also asked for an apology.
"And I am sorry. All I’m saying is there were inconsistencies," VanOrman later said. "I am not trying to slander Ms. Paltrow or say she’s lying, by any which way or form."
Owens responded by saying, "My client says she resents that."
Paltrow was later asked if it's true she misrepresented a number of things while on the stand, to which Paltrow said, "Absolutely not."
She remains adamant Sanderson crashed into her from behind during a skiing outing at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah in 2016. When asked if she felt any empathy towards the retired optometrist who alleges he suffered a brain injury and four broken ribs, Paltrow said she felt "very sorry for him" because "it seems he's had a very difficult life."
"But I did not cause the accident so I cannot be at fault for anything that subsequently happened to him," she added.
When the collision happened, Paltrow said she initially thought, for a split second, that it was some kind of "practical joke" or "someone doing something perverted."
"So, that was a quick thought that went through my head when I was trying to reconcile what was happening," she said from the witness stand.
Paltrow said Sanderson's two skis came between her skis, forcing her legs apart. She also said Sanderson's body pressed up against her back and that she heard strange noises, like grunting and groaning "in a disturbing way."
"My brain was trying to make sense of what was happening," she said. "I thought, 'Is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted? This is really strange.' My mind was going ver, very quickly and I was trying to ascertain what was happening."
After the collision, Paltrow said she froze and then got very upset and admits yelling at him, "You skied directly into my f***ing back!"
She apologized for using such language. The case has recessed until Monday morning when the trial resumes at 9 a.m.
According to a 2019 complaint obtained by ET, plaintiff Terry Sanderson accused Paltrow of a "hit-and-run ski crash" at Deer Valley in Utah, alleging she "skied out of control and hit the back" of him, "knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries." He further alleged Deer Valley employees did not call for emergency responders and skied away. He accused ski instructor Eric Christiansen of falsely reporting Paltrow did not cause the crash on an incident report. Sanderson is seeking more than $300,000 in damages.
In a counterclaim filed by Paltrow in 2021, she alleged it was Sanderson who was uphill and "plowed into her back," allegedly knocking her down and spurring him to apologize. According to court documents, Sanderson was experiencing vision problems one year before the crash. Paltrow is seeking $1 in damages, in addition to costs and attorneys' fees.
"The actual damages exceed $1," the counterclaim states, "but Ms. Paltrow seeks only $1 to compensate for them. Resolution of this Counterclaim will demonstrate that Plaintiff ran into Ms. Paltrow and nonetheless blamed her for it in an attempt to exploit her celebrity and wealth. Any recovery obtained by Ms. Paltrow will be donated to a charitable organization."
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