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.



Justin Bieber Releases 'Swag,' his Long-awaited Seventh Album

FILE - Justin Bieber attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Justin Bieber attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
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Justin Bieber Releases 'Swag,' his Long-awaited Seventh Album

FILE - Justin Bieber attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Justin Bieber attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Never say never! Justin Bieber surprised fans Friday by releasing "Swag," his seventh studio album, hours after he teased it on billboards and social media posts.

It is his first album since 2021´s "Justice" and his first since becoming a father last year, The Associated Press reported.

"Inspired by his devotion as a husband and father, this new era of music has fueled a deeper perspective and more reflective sound, resulting in some of his most personal music yet," Def Jam Recordings said of the 21-track album.

Billboards depicting Bieber were found by fans Thursday in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Los Angeles. The singer also shared images of billboards on his official Instagram account along with a tracklist that included song names like "All I Can Take,Walking Away,Dadz Love" and "Forgiveness."

Bieber, the two-time Grammy Award winning singer and Canadian pop idol who revolutionized teen pop and social media fame, is best known for his silky R&B pop lyric tenor, demonstrated on the diamond-selling "Baby,Sorry," and "Stay" with the Kid Laroi. At the beginning of his career, and as a tween, Bieber began working with Usher and the influential music manager Scooter Braun.

In 2023, Bieber sold the rights to his music - all six of his albums, including hits like "Sorry" and "Baby" - to Hipgnosis, a UK-based music investment company. The deal´s financial details were not disclosed, but Billboard Magazine reports that the sale was worth an estimated $200 million.

In August 2024, Bieber and his wife, the model Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin), announced the birth of their first child, Jack Blues Bieber.