Gwyneth Paltrow Takes the Stand in Skiing Trial

Gwyneth Paltrow appears in court 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, in Park City, Utah, USA, 24 March 2023. (EPA)
Gwyneth Paltrow appears in court 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, in Park City, Utah, USA, 24 March 2023. (EPA)
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Gwyneth Paltrow Takes the Stand in Skiing Trial

Gwyneth Paltrow appears in court 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, in Park City, Utah, USA, 24 March 2023. (EPA)
Gwyneth Paltrow appears in court 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, in Park City, Utah, USA, 24 March 2023. (EPA)

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow took the stand in her US trial over a skiing accident Friday, telling a Utah courtroom that the man suing her had crashed into her from behind and was at fault for the collision.

The "Shakespeare in Love" actress is being sued for damages by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson over a skiing accident seven years ago, which his lawyers blame on Paltrow and say caused him damages worth $3.3 million.

Paltrow has in turn countersued, for a token $1 plus legal expenses, and had her chance to speak on the trial's fourth day at a courthouse in the Rocky Mountain resort town of Park City.

"Mr. Sanderson categorically hit me on that ski slope, and that is the truth," said Paltrow, under cross-examination by Sanderson's lawyer.

"When he slid between my skis, I absolutely froze," she recalled.

Asked by Sanderson's lawyer if immediately following the incident she had screamed "You skied directly into my effing back," Paltrow replied: "Yes I did. I apologize for my bad language."

At question in the trial is which of the skiers was further downslope when the crash occurred. Both claim they were hit from behind.

Paltrow told the court that she had briefly feared she was being sexually assaulted.

"I was skiing, and two skis came between my skis, forcing my legs apart, and then there was a body pressing against me, and there was a very strange grunting noise" she said.

"So my brain was trying to make sense of what was happening. I thought, 'Is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?'"

At the time of the crash, Oscar-winning actress Paltrow was on vacation with her now-husband Brad Falchuk, and Moses and Apple -- her two children with her ex, Coldplay singer Chris Martin.

All three are expected to testify at the trial, where Sanderson's lawyers claim Paltrow fled the scene of the crash.

On Friday, Paltrow acknowledged she left the scene, but said she had been told she could do so by her ski instructor Eric Christiansen, who remained there.

"Mr. Christiansen stayed and filled out the report, made sure Mr. Sanderson was okay, and said to me, 'you can go ahead,'" she said.

"He knew also that my daughter was at the bottom waiting for me," added Paltrow.

The trial began in Park City, in the western state of Utah, on Tuesday.

In his opening statement, Lawrence Buhler, representing Sanderson, said Paltrow had been skiing in a "dangerous" and "reckless" manner, and had caused his client "four broken ribs and permanent brain damage."

On Friday, she repeatedly denied those claims.

"I was gently skiing and he kind of gently skied right into me," she said.

Under questioning, Paltrow acknowledged she did not inquire about Sanderson's injuries or health after the crash.

"I think you have to keep in mind when you're the victim of a crash, your psychology is not necessarily thinking about the person who perpetrated it," she said.

Sanderson is set to take the stand later in the trial.

In his own opening statement, Paltrow's lawyer Steven Owens said Sanderson is "obsessed" with the lawsuit, and that the case was a "meritless claim of false allegation."

In addition to her Oscar-winning acting career, Paltrow has forged a second career marketing wellness products on her Goop website.



Lady Gaga to Rock Copacabana Beach with a Free Concert for More than 1 Million Fans

American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga (L) performs during a rehearsal before her concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2025. (EPA)
American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga (L) performs during a rehearsal before her concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2025. (EPA)
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Lady Gaga to Rock Copacabana Beach with a Free Concert for More than 1 Million Fans

American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga (L) performs during a rehearsal before her concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2025. (EPA)
American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga (L) performs during a rehearsal before her concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 May 2025. (EPA)

Lady Gaga will give a free concert on Copacabana Beach Saturday night, the second such show in as many years organized by Rio de Janeiro's City Hall.

The show will be the biggest of the pop star’s career, as it was for Madonna who also turned the expansive stretch of sand into a massive dance floor last year.

The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Years’ Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John’s Day celebrations in June.

“It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season – filling hotels and increasing spending in bars, restaurants, and retail, generating jobs and income for the population,” said Osmar Lima, the city’s secretary of economic development, in a statement released by Rio City Hall’s tourism department last month.

Similar concerts are scheduled to take place every year in May at least until 2028.

Lady Gaga arrived in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday. The city has been alive with Gaga-mania since, as it geared up to welcome the Mother Monster for her first show in the country since 2012.

Rio’s metro employees danced to Lady Gaga’s 2008 hit song “LoveGame” and gave instructions for Saturday in a video. A free exhibition celebrating her career sold out. And “Little Monsters,” as her fans are known, sang and danced in front of Copacabana Palace where the pop star is staying, in the hope of catching a glimpse of her.

Rio’s City Hall said in a recent report that around 1.6 million people are expected to attend and that the show should inject at least 600 million reais (some $106 million) into Rio’s economy, nearly 30% more than Madonna’s show.

While the vast majority of attendees will be from Rio, the event is expected to attract Brazilians from across the country and international visitors.

Ingrid Serrano, a 30-year-old engineer, made a cross-continent trip from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show.

“I’ve been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,” said Serrano, who was wearing a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga’s outlandish costumes over the years.

For her, the mega-star represents “total freedom of expression - being who one wants without shame.”

Lady Gaga's more than 2-hour performance is scheduled to start at 9:45 p.m. local time. Sixteen sound towers have been spread along the beach to ensure the hits resonate across the vast space.

Rio state’s security plan includes the presence of 3,300 military and 1,500 police officers, and 400 military firefighters.

Rio officials have a history of organizing huge concerts on Copacabana Beach.

Madonna's show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year, while 4 million people flooded onto the beach for a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994. According to Guinness World Records, that was the biggest free rock concert in history.