Gwyneth Paltrow has testified she believes she was sexually assaulted when a skier rammed her back during a 2016 trip to Deer Valley Resort.
The Goop founder described the moment she claims retired optometrist Terry Sanderson collided with her and how she was “extremely upset”.
“At first I was confused and didn’t know exactly what was going on. It’s a very strange thing to happen on a ski slope,” she recalls. “I froze, and I would say I was very upset a few seconds later.”
Gwyneth Paltrow testified Friday in the civil trial about a 2016 skiing collision that allegedly seriously injured retired optometrist Terry Sanderson. She was sued for $300,000. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
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Gwyneth Paltrow appears in court on Friday. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Paltrow explained why she initially thought she might have been sexually assaulted, during questioning by Sanderson’s attorney.
“So that was a quick thought that came to mind when I was trying to reconcile what was going on,” Paltrow explained. “Two skis came between my skis, forcing my legs apart, and then a body leaned against me.”
“My brain was trying to make sense of what was going on,” she added. “I thought it was a joke? Was someone doing something evil? My mind was going very, very fast and my mind was trying to figure out what happened.”
Paltrow noted that they felt like they were “spooning” when the two fell to the ground. She also pointed out that she wasn’t claiming she was sexually assaulted, it’s just “what crossed her mind when it happened.”
Terry Sanderson attended the trial throughout the week. (Rick Bowmer)
Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court next to her attorney, Steve Owens. (Jeff Swinger)
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Paltrow, 50, was sued for $300,000 by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, who claims the actress rammed him from behind and seriously injured him at Utah’s Deer Valley Resort in 2016.
The jury will also hear from Paltrow’s husband, Brad Falchuk, and children; Apple, 18 and Moses, 16.
Before Paltrow took the helm, Sanderson’s daughter, Shae Hareth, testified about her father’s changes in behavior following the ski collision.
She claimed he was easily distracted and recalled a “horrible experience” that damaged Sanderson’s relationship with his granddaughter.
Shae Herath, daughter of Terry Sanderson, testified in court on Friday. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
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Paltrow and Sanderson are in litigation over a 2016 skiing collision that seriously injured the retired optometrist, according to a 2019 lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital. So far, much of the testimony has come from doctors talking about Sanderson’s condition before and after the collision.
Sanderson accused the Goop founder of skiing after the accident, which left him with “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life”, as well as emotional distress and disfigurement, according to the lawsuit.
Sanderson originally sued actress, Deer Valley Resort and an instructor for $3.1 million and claimed he was the victim of a hit-and-run. A judge denied the claim and Deer Valley Resort and the instructor were removed from the trial.
The ski slopes of Utah’s Deer Valley Resort. (Getty Pictures)
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Paltrow maintained that Sanderson had in fact skied into her and claims she stayed until a Deer Valley Resort ski instructor gave her permission to leave. The 50-year-old actress also said in her countersuit that Sanderson had previously admitted he had no clear memory of the accident.
The actress is asking for attorney’s fees and $1.
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