Gwyneth Paltrow is in a Utah civil court, defending herself from a lawsuit claiming that she brutally crashed into a senior citizen on a Park City ski slope and then skied away when the man was in visible distress from multiple broken bones. Everyone has an opinion about this case and the whole thing has turned into a lowkey media circus, especially because the trial is being streamed live. It’s bonkers, in my opinion. People are watching and reporting on the trial like it’s an R. Kelly sentencing.
Gwyneth’s lawyer told the court that the whole ski trip was planned as the first “family” trip with Brad Falchuk (who was then her boyfriend) and his two kids, who are close in age to her two children, Apple and Moses. Gwyneth’s defense is apparently that she was so absorbed in “see if this might work” blended-family ski holiday that she wasn’t paying attention to seniors on the slopes. Meanwhile, Terry Sanderson (the guy suing Paltrow) and his lawyers called on a doctor to testify that Sanderson couldn’t enjoy wine tasting anymore, ever since Paltrow allegedly plowed into him.
A medical expert at the Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial says the man she allegedly hit suffered such a blow that he can no longer do the things he enjoys, including wine tastings and spending time with loved ones.
Dr. Wendell Gibby, a neuroradiology specialist at the University of California, San Diego, said Dr. Terry Sanderson, 76, showed signs of traumatic brain damage that altered his behavior after Paltrow, 50, allegedly ran into him on a ski slope at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah on Feb. 26, 2016.
“Terry had been a high-functioning, active person,” Gibby told the court Wednesday. “Every day he was doing lots of things. Meeting groups, wine tasting, skiing, volunteering. After the accident, he deteriorated abruptly and many of the activities he loved to do, he stopped doing.”
Sanderson, a retired optometrist, claims his way of life was permanently derailed after Paltrow allegedly slammed into him and fled. Paltrow, however, claims Sanderson was the one who crashed into her. She sat quietly in the Park City court on Wednesday with a button-down cream sweater, brown corduroy pants and her hair tied back as she sipped on green juice. She remained on her phone and appeared to be texting during Gibby’s testimony.
Gibby said that while Sanderson appeared to pass all his tests checking for neurological damage, the former Army doctor failed one exam. Gibby concluded that Sanderson demonstrated abnormalities in his reasoning abilities.
They’re trying to make Sanderson seem like the snob or the elitist here, which is pretty rich considering he’s suing GWYNETH. Gwyneth is not a working class hero. If anything, hearing about wine-tasting will cause her to try to out-elitist Sanderson. She already started – staying on her phone throughout the testimony isn’t a great look, it makes her look like she’s too bored to listen to a peasant.
This man wants to out-Gwyneth Gwyneth and that is a losing game https://t.co/xgiyrh3rHY
— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) March 23, 2023
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Park City, UT – Actor Gwyneth Paltrow looks on before leaving the courtroom, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Park City, Utah, where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. Terry Sanderson claims that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they violently collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort, a skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs, après-ski champagne yurts and posh clientele. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool) Pictured: Gwyneth Paltrow BACKGRID USA 21 MARCH 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Park City, UT – Actor Gwyneth Paltrow looks on before leaving the courtroom, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Park City, Utah, where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. Terry Sanderson claims that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they violently collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort, a skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs, après-ski champagne yurts and posh clientele. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool) Pictured: Gwyneth Paltrow BACKGRID USA 21 MARCH 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Park City, UT – Actor Gwyneth Paltrow looks on before leaving the courtroom, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Park City, Utah, where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. Terry Sanderson claims that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they violently collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort, a skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs, après-ski champagne yurts and posh clientele. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool) Pictured: Gwyneth Paltrow BACKGRID USA 21 MARCH 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Park City, UT – Gwyneth Paltrow leaves court flanked by her security guard at the end of the first day of her civil case. The Goop boss is being sued by former optometrist Terry Sanderson who claims she is responsible for colliding with him in a 2019 skiing accident. Pictured: Gwyneth Paltrow BACKGRID USA 21 MARCH 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
The rich eating the rich. What a world. She could have at least pretended to be listening. Snob.
Not relevant to the legal issues, but her resting bitchface has never been more apparent. Being on her phone during testimony just completes the look.
I’m surprised the judge hasn’t freaked out because of that. Rude, but also the involved parties are supposed to be paying attention! Unless of course she was taking notes or thoughts to pass along to her lawyer at their instruction….
Kind of loving it. I am sure there is more nuance – but the reports have gone from- she checked on him, to: her entourage checked on him- to: she was too busy worrying about her boyfriend’s kids liking her to check on him.
Human decency to stop and check on a person you injured. And still just basic human decency to stay with him until the ski patrol arrives for medical care.
Not her- couldn’t be bothered.
If someone ruined her ability to go to wine tasting- there would be hell to pay.
Wine has too many calories. Now if she couldn’t taste her bone broth brunch? Wow. She would be traumatized. I’m also focused on her horrible skin and brittle hair. Lack of nutrition is so obvious here.
I know commenting on people’s appearances is a no-go but she puts it out there so I will.
She looks so dry. Like, there’s no moisture anywhere.
Oh yes! GP couldn’t simply allow a peasant to undermine her wine or IV treatments! He does sound rather pretentious that he isn’t able to enjoy his wine tasting. Couldn’t his attorneys come up with a better scenario than that?? My gawd! And why have an optometrist testify and not an actual ophthalmologist?? Optometrist aren’t actually suited for medical testimony whereas an ophthalmologist would be. In any case, GP should express some form of decorum in a court of law even if she is taking notes.
The optometrist is the plaintiff.
Just a thought/question – any chance she was taking notes on her phone or texting information on the case? My crazy job requires communication in meetings so we all tend to text to make sure what we are saying is in alignment with others on the team and I definitely takes notes on my phone. Ok, I’m grasping but that was my first thought. 🤷🏽♀️ No defense of Goop as a person.
This sounds plausible. It’s how a lot of folks take notes now. She has good lawyers – I’m sure she has been advised on how to act in court so I don’t see her playing on her phone for the fun of it.
Yeah that was my first thought and not because I think Gwyneth is too kind or caring to send superficial texts during a trial or whatever but because she presumably has a team of well-paid lawyers who would discourage her from anything that results in bad optics. I mean, I truly hope there was a valid reason for it…
I also suspect if it was me, and some guy (in my view) has been trying to blackmail me for years, it would be hard to sit and listen while he (in my view) lied about what I did to him. I’d be playing solitaire on my phone to distract myself from climbing over the table. Not a fan of Gwyneth, but this does feel like extortion.
I was thinking the same. I don’t know what happened on the slope and it is kind of crazy how they have completely opposite stories.
That look on her face though? It makes me believe her, or at least, I believe that SHE truly believes her own story. I also feel like if she hit him, she would have settled. I know he is asking for 300k now and it started as a LOT more, but if she knew she was at fault, at some point along the way, I think she would have settled. Not out of a desire to do the right thing, but she could easily afford 300k, and if she knew she was in the wrong, why would she bother wasting her time?
Of course, being her, I suppose she could have hit him exactly as he said, and she still THINKS it wasn’t her fault because peasants shouldn’t be within striking distance of her, that fits her known persona. Hence the not settling.
I thought that as well, it might be silent communication with her team based on the testimony they’re hearing. But it does look bad, if it were regular written notes, it would look a lot less like she wasn’t paying attention.
Lawyer here — in my experience, you give the client a legal pad and pen or an iPad with an app where they can take notes using a pen — you don’t even have them type unless they have a physical impairment, and you tell the judge that is what they are doing.
You don’t let the client have their phone out because of the optics and because so many judges HATE phones in court.
And in a situation where you’re worried about people seeing/photographing what’s on her legal pad or screen, an iPad with the privacy screen would be the best choice.
I agree that she was likely either taking notes or communicating with off site attorneys. I take all of my notes on my notes app on my phone – like when I go to the doctor, I take notes on what they say on my phone, and then that way I can send those notes via email more easily. I don’t whip out a notepad.
I don’t disagree with other commenters too though that think she just doesn’t want to give him the time of day.
If this had been an incident between this man and someone of average means, I doubt this lawsuit would be happening. This whole thing sounds fishy and I feel bad for Gwyneth in this instance. Not saying she’s an angel but there is too much conflicting evidence from what I’ve heard.
What I find amazing about this: the Gwyneth and the senior are pointing fingers at each other and saying, “your fault.” No one I know who knows anything about GP has any idea if she’s innocent—like people can actually see her as someone who would crash into a senior citizen, leave him helpless and injured, and go after him in court! No matter if she has done that or not, someone on her team had better be planning on how to improve her image.
She should be hooked up to a vitamin IV.
Aww he cannot do wine tastings, bless his heart, bone broth, has he tried bone broth, our Lady of Goop Gwynnie might be able to hook him up.
That was my initial reaction too, but I just filled out a form for my surgeon’s office and it got me to thinking. (I had one hip replaced in October and the other one is due to be replaced in May and I would do it tomorrow if I could it’s acting up so much). So even though I can attend social activities, my enjoyment of them is severely hampered because there may not be chairs at the right height to be comfortable, etc. There are a lot of things that I’m still not doing because of covid, but a good part of that is because I can only make myself comfortable at home. If he had multiple breaks, that might be the same for him.
In reality he is not even asking her for that much money at all. Her clothes for this trial cost more.
These injuries to a man of his age are significant. Any significant injury (even without a brain injury) at that age is more devastating than you may think.
Even a 76 year old in extremely good physical condition is still closer to 100 years old than 50 years old, and body processes reflect that.
Significant injuries, even well treated – can kick off a chain reaction to physical and mental decline. There are a lot of resources you can find for more information about this.
This means nothing to her except not having to hold herself accountable for any of it.
He asked for $3mil initially. It’s like, c’mon, stick to a number.
I’m of the mind that even if I am wealthy—especially if I’m wealthy—and I truly believe I’m not at fault, you’re not seeing a cent. It sets a horrible precedent. And yes, I would rather spend $$$ proving my innocence than give in to your fluctuating demands. Side note: don’t think her attire in these two court appearances total $300k. Jewelry, slight possibility (though unlikely), but def not the clothes.
Jenny Johnson posted on Twitter that Gwyneth looks like she’s on trial in 1987 for hiring a hit man to kill her husband. Can’t unsee it.
That is amazing and yes, now that’s all I can see.
She’s behaving repulsively.
So, this smells of bull to me, because people who have real brain damage have way bigger problems than not being able to enjoy wine tastings any more.
Also, I absolutely loved how wine tastings was put before being able to enjoy time with loved ones.
Also that’s so vague.
Does he scream at and throw things at loved ones? Please enumerate…
And none of this is to say G comes out smelling like roses here either.
I have a brain injury and there are many things I can’t enjoy any longer because of sensory and other disorders. That the media and others are making a mockery of the fact that he cannot go out with family and friends to wine tastings, or any other activity, is sad to me, but not surprising. We are just supposed to drool and sit in a wheelchair – things that people can see. Well, sometimes you cannot see the trauma we go through every single day; that it takes hours to make a decision that used to take seconds. Please, try to have more compassion. We feel, “less than” because we aren’t the same and we know it. It hurts.
She’s drinking green juice and texting during the trial? That’s a great look. Okay I guess the green juice isn’t that different from someone drinking water but its a detail that made me roll my eyes lol.
I hope she loses because she threw in the boyfriend thing to capitalize on being a celeb. What does that have to do with anything. It kinda leads to she was distracted and hit him. I know he is rich too but unless someone has a video or picture; I SAY GWEN pay up.
I thought she was claiming Terry Sanderson hit her? In which case her being distracted by family issues is irrelevant. This seems all over the place on both sides.
I can’t believe I’m on Goop’s side.
Meh. I’m kinda thinking that a 76 yo shouldn’t be on the slopes. Esp if he doesn’t have the sense to realize that he and another skier could knock into each other.
As an avid skier, I would agree. Except that my 88 year-old dad still carefully and easily schusses past me, leaving me in the wake of his perfect, snowy rooster tale when we ski together. (I’ve been skiing for 50+ years). The effects of age and the application of common sense are relative. Not sure how experienced a skier this guy is or how experienced she is, but accidents happen. They both should have stopped and checked on one another.
Yes!
How dare anyone in their 70’s enjoy an activity like skiing!
Don’t they know they are supposed to stay indoors, at the home, playing euchre?!
How about we DON’T blame age & just hold people accountable when they ski into someone, hurt them, & ski away?
ditto double ditto this!!
Seriously – it’s a lifetime sport. Old people are allowed to ski.
We were skiing last week and there are *instructors* in their 70s.
If she crashed into him from behind, how was he supposed to see her? The person farther up the hill is responsible for not crashing into people below them. It’s like getting rear ended. Whoever is behind is supposed to make sure there’s space.
He landed face down. That would be from being hit from behind. And you don’t just ski off. She should have just settled.
My thoughts exactly! And, it just so happens he is in the way of a celebrity!?! Sounds, odd. Come on, pay his medical, slope fees, court costs and lets all go home. At that age he should never be on the slopes. Who was his escort/ caretaker on this fateful day? NO WAY he dressed himself at almost 80 in ski gear!
Unless you’re being facetious, and it doesn’t sound like it, you are vastly underestimating some older people.
I worked in hospice for ten years. I had patients in their 90s who worked and stayed active through their late 80s until cancer got them. Yet my father in law is less agile at 40 than my mom is at 76. Don’t put people into boxes they don’t belong in just because of age.
There is no place for discrimination in society, but here it is; good old ageism with it’s typical stereotypes. The ageist attacks on seniors has a direct effect on their mental health and leads many senior adults to commit suicide. It isn’t OK.
For those who care: Day 2 fashion nearly identical to Day 1 fashion. Different top, same cream color. Meh. Green juice a nice touch but don’t spill it on yourself, honey.
Forget and green juice and texting, why didn’t her lawyers tell her to ditch the David Koresh glasses? Absolutely no one outside Hollywood wears those. They make her look like a would be serial killer or something.
Can’t Fishticks at least act interested in her trial? The jury is watching and they will be taking in her demeanor, which is 100% I am offended by everything involved in this tacky low-rent courtroom. I watched some of the video of the trial and her demeanor is worse in action. Fishticks is not helping her case with the Average Joe Juror by sitting there sulking all day.
“This man wants to out-Gwyneth Gwyneth and that is a losing game.”
lolol.
Her attorney. Is. So. Bad.
I’m loving watching this trial when I can!
Can the prosecution just show the video of Gwynnie pulling out in front of a vehicle with her poor daughter on the back of her scooter? She has ALWAYS been this oblivious to others.
I’d forgotten the scooter incident, you are so right!
Yes, I was remembering the scooter incident, too. I think the guy should win.
Everyone’s laughing about this guy saying he can’t enjoy wine tastings anymore. I suspect that’s what the lawyers are focusing on to make him sound ridiculous, but I’m on his side on this one. My brother has not been able to drink since his concussion. He has post-concussion syndrome and needs to lay down to rest every 2 hours or so. If he’s at a gathering and he has a drink the room starts to spin on him after a few sips, so he’s had to give up all alcoholic beverages entirely. So imagine that’s the case, and this man who got hit by Paltrow wine tastes with his friends as his recreation and he can no longer participate in that. Is it snooty? Sure. But I’d be devastated to have something that I loved to do taken away from me.
If they are telling the truth.
If she hit him that hard.
She would not have skied away.
He is lying.
He ended up face down. Pretty simple, he got hit from behind. She left the scene.
I think she might be the one who is lying, because she’s now claiming she thought she was being sexually assaulted when this happened? WTF? Give me a break. Is she serious? This trial is getting crazier and crazier.
This trial is getting weirder and weirder. Did you hear what GP is saying now. I just can’t
I think she’s trying to malign his character. SHE crashed into him and now HE was trying to sexually assault her? This bitch. And she blithely skied away and had her “people” go check on him. She’s a liar and a total horror.