Paltrow accused

Ski resort transfixed by star’s court case

Gwyneth Paltrow denied she had been engaging in “risky behaviour” on the day of a 2016 ski collision at a Utah mountain resort as she began testifying in the case of a man who claims that the movie star’s recklessness caused him lasting physical injuries, while she says the clash on the slopes was his responsibility.

The Oscar-winning actor took the stand to answer questions about her collision with the retired optometrist suing her, Terry Sanderson, and began her evidence by describing herself as an “intermediate” skier familiar with the rules of skiing.

She said she was aware that if involved in a collision, skiers were required to leave their contact information but that her ski instructor Eric Christiansen had left hers for her.

“So because I was hit by Mr Sanderson and he was at fault, I assume that Eric ... who was there at the time, he said I’m going to leave all of your information, because my kids were waiting for me,” she said.

“I would not have left the scene without leaving my information and my information was left [by Eric] ... subsequently I know that he did. I was not there when it was given.”

Paltrow denied engaging in “risky behaviour” on the day of the collision.

“I was not engaging in any risky behaviour. I would not engage in risky behaviour with or without my children being there,” she said. “I have always been open and honest with my kids, and they know me very well.”

Earlier, Mark Stephen Herath, the brother of Sanderson’s son-inlaw, talked on the stand about the lingering effects of the incident on Sanderson, 76.

Herath said: “His comprehension had gone down, he’d get confused … It was like day and night before and after the accident. I think he tried to go skiing a couple of times but I don’t think he’s gone since the accident.” He called Sanderson’s condition “a dead end”, and added: “He wasn’t mentally prepared to go skiing again.”

Sanderson’s daughter Shae Herath also gave evidence yesterday, telling the court: “The issue to his brain has caused significant damage, enough to change his personality. My dad is very insecure, he doesn’t trust his brain any more.

“It is incredibly hard, he used to be able to multitask. My dad used to be a really good listener,” she added.

In a trial that is due to last eight days, with each side getting four days to call their witnesses, yesterday marked the final day Sanderson’s attorneys could compel Paltrow to testify. In previous depositions she has said she “froze” when the crash happened, while she was on a beginners’ slope with one of her children.

“We came crashing down together. This man was behind me on the mountain,” she said in November 2020. “My knee – and our skis were still sort of tangled up. Our bodies were almost spooning and I moved away quickly. And my knee splayed open, and I was in shock.”

Next week Paltrow’s team is expected to call medical experts, ski instructors and her two children, Moses and Apple.

It has not been a great week for Paltrow, once one of Hollywood’s once hottest properties and founder of the hugely lucrative wellness empire, Goop.

Sanderson, a military veteran, claims Paltrow, 50, was “out of control” and recklessly crashed into him on a slope at the nearby Deer Valley Resort, leaving the retiree “facedown in the snow, unconscious”, with a concussion and four broken ribs.

It feels a slightly surreal legal drama – one that would likely not get too far had it been dreamed up in a Hollywood writers’ room. Sanderson’s team said the collision devastated his life.

After his accident, he deteriorated abruptly. And many of the activities that he used to do, he stopped doing,” the witness Dr Wendell Gibby testified. “The rib fractures certainly corroborate that there was enough force to cause a head injury.”

Paltrow’s attorneys argue that the collision was Sanderson’s fault, since he was higher on the slope – Utah law gives the lower skier right

of way – and he’d afterwards said he was fine. They described his claims as “utter BS”. Instead, Paltrow alleges that Sanderson “ploughed into her back” on the beginners’ run at the skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs and après-ski champagne yurts, and apologised. The “shaken and upset” actor, her lawyers say, “quit skiing for the day even though it was still morning”.

Paltrow’s attorneys have said Sanderson is looking to exploit her wealth and celebrity, and asked the jury not to be distracted by pity for the plaintiff. If Sanderson has the symptoms described, they say, they result from old age.

An earlier $3.1m claim against Paltrow was thrown out by Judge Kent Holmberg, who ruled that Sanderson wasn’t entitled to punitive damages. The claim against Paltrow now alleges damages of “more than $300,000”. Paltrow, whose Goop brand is valued at $250m, is claiming a symbolic $1 plus legal costs.

Courtrooms are not typically good places for celebrities to venture, but some experts think the setting and bad lighting could actually end up benefitting the Paltrow brand – focused as it is on glamour and beauty – by generating a sense of sympathy and allowing a glimpse of Paltrow the person behind Paltrow the image.

Image perfectionism is now offtrend, said Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, citing Instagram influencer fatigue.

“It’s a question of authenticity. Creators or celebrities that launch their own brands need to make sure their messages are authentic,” Enberg said. “People don’t want to see perfect lives. They respond more positively to raw, real content than the polished content on Instagram.”

‘My dad is very insecure … he doesn’t trust his brain any more’

Shae Herath Plaintiff ’s daughter