Since 21 March in a court in Utah, in the United States, a civil trial has been ongoing involving 50-year-old actress Gwyneth Paltrow, very famous for her roles in films such as Shakespeare in Love e Sliding Doors and in recent years also for founding the Goop clothing and cosmetics brand. As often happens in the United States, the trial is broadcast in its entirety live on television channels and YouTube, and because of its famous protagonist it has become very popular on social networks, on which many videos of various objectively bizarre moments are circulating these days, and related memes created by users.
The trial concerns an episode that took place in 2016 in a ski resort in Park City, Utah. Paltrow was accused by 76-year-old Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, of running over him on the slope skiing “out of control”, and of leaving him unconscious on the ground without rescuing him. This, according to Sanderson, would have caused him brain damage with consequences on her personality, in addition to other physical damage. Sanderson asked for damages of 300 thousand dollars and Paltrow – who denies the allegations and claims he was the one who hit her – denounced him in turn asking for a symbolic compensation of one dollar and the payment of court costs.
The trial began a week ago, and according to Paltrow’s lawyer Stephen W. Owens, it is expected to last another week. Several witnesses were heard and others will be heard in the coming days: during the clash on the ski slope, in addition to the two involved, there were also Paltrow’s ski instructor, who has already testified, and the partner and children of the actress, who will be heard in the coming days. Sanderson was with a friend, Craig Ramon, who claimed at the trial that he was the only one who saw the moment of the clash: he confirms Sanderson’s version.
Second il New York Times this is “it’s basically a case based on ski slope etiquette.” In fact, both Sanderson and Paltrow claim to have found themselves lower than the other on the track and therefore to have precedence in the descent. Paltrow said she saw a pair of skis slipping between hers from behind, and being run over and knocked over by Sanderson, while he said he heard a bloodcurdling scream, then was hit from behind and finished face down in the snow.
Contrary to Sanderson’s claims, Paltrow said she stayed with him until he got up and then quickly left because her children were waiting for her and the instructor reassured her he would handle it. During her testimony, Paltrow’s instructor said he did not see the fight and denied that Sanderson was knocked unconscious.
Sanderson’s lawyers are particularly insisting on the fact that the clash with Paltrow caused him a strong psychological trauma: before he was a “charming, outgoing and sociable” person, now quite the opposite. In his testimony on Monday, Sanderson said he led a life of recluse following the accident, that he had compromised relationships with his children, that he had separated from his partner and that he had lost his friends. According to Paltrow’s defense, Sanderson’s personality would have changed due to his advancing age, leading him to a sort of obsession with the incident.
Among the videos of the trial that are circulating widely online are some that are particularly colorful, such as the one showing Paltrow’s attorney waving a dollar bill to insist that her client wants nothing from Sanderson. And others showing questions Paltrow asked by a Sanderson lawyer, Kristin VanOrman, with tone «by turns flirtatious, accusatory and clownish». For example, VanOrman made irony about Paltrow’s symbolic compensation request, comparing it to the one requested by the singer Taylor Swift during a trial a few years ago, and made some jokes implying that she was a fan of the actress, or at least under her spell : it is not clear with what purpose.
This Gwyneth Paltrow testimony is like an SNL skit. pic.twitter.com/7wBMtZqHO5
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) March 25, 2023