GWYN ON STAND IN SKI CRASH
Paltrow: I thought it was a sex assault
Gwyneth Paltrow testified Friday that she thought she was being sexually assaulted while skiing in Utah, during the contentious trial over a 2016 ski-slope crash that a retired optometrist says left him permanently brain50, damaged. Paltrow, pushed back at Dr. Terry Sanshe derson’s claims negligently rammed into him on the slopes of Deer Valley Resort in Utah and permanently altered the course of his life.
“I was hit by Mr. Sanderson, and he was at fault,” Paltrow said almost immediately upon taking the stand.
The doctor, 76, suffered a concussion and broken ribs, and contends the long-term effects have disabled him. He is suing Paltrow for $300,000 in damages. She countersued for $1 and legal fees.
On the stand, the self-described “intermediate” skier also disputed Sanderson’s claim that she did a “hit-and-run” and fled the scene following the crash.
“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 the star seeming smug at times.
She revealed that she thought someone might be trying to sexually assault her in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
“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. Our bodies were almost spooning. And I moved away quickly,” Paltrow added.
The exchanges between Paltrow and Sanderson lawyer Kristin 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” 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“Your honor, that is slanderous, and I want it withdrawn this moment,” Paltrow’s lawyer shot back.
VanOrman apologized and recanted her statement.
The two children that Paltrow shares with Coldplay singer Chris Martin — Moses, 16, and Apple, 18 — are expected to take the stand when the trial resumes in Park City Monday, as are her husband Brad Falchuk and Sanderson.
The kids were on the slopes with their mom on Feb. 26, 2016, when the crash occurred, but didn’t see it actually happen.