Gwyneth Paltrow trial – live: Actor testifies she thought skiing accident was ‘sexual assault’

Andrea Blanco,Oliver O'Connell and Graeme Massie

25 March 2023 at 9:55 am·24-min read

Gwyneth Paltrow says she briefly thought a 2016 ski collision was in fact a sexual assault and “froze” when a set of skis suddenly “forced my legs apart.”

Terry Sanderson, 76, has accused the Hollywood star of crashing into him on a ski slope at the Deer Valley resort in Park City, Utah, in February 2016, leaving him with “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement”.

Meanwhile, Paltrow claims it was Mr Sanderson who crashed into her — and that he told his daughter afterwards that he was “famous.” The Goop mogul is expected to be called on the stand by Mr Sanderson’s attorneys today.

In court on Thursday, Mr Sanderon’s lawyer Robert Sykes hit out at the star’s legal team for asking his daughter about claims by another daughter that their father was abusive.

Mr Sykes claimed that Paltrow’s team was only going down that route because the actor “is worried about the way this case is going”.

“You can’t just attack someone’s character because his client is worried about the way this case is going,” he said.

Mr Sanderson is seeking $300,000 from Paltrow while she is seeking a symbolic $1 in damages and for her legal fees to be covered.

Terry Sanderson’s attorney has claimed that Gwyneth Paltrow is “worried” about the way the trial is going.

Key Points

Gwyneth Paltrow says she first thought ski crash was sexual assault and ‘froze’
Oscar-winning actor Gwyneth Paltrow faces civil suit after 2016 ski crash
Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson and Paltrow have very different versions of events
Sanderson suffered ‘permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs ... emotional distress’
Trial will decide damages

Gwyneth Paltrow questioned over friendship with Taylor Swift in ski accident trial

14:00 , Andrea Blanco

Taylor Swift had a surprising cameo in Gwyneth Paltrow’s ongoing ski collision trial on Friday (24 March).

The Independent’s Tom Murray has more:

Gwyneth Paltrow questioned over friendship with Taylor Swift

WATCH: Shae Sanderson accuses Gwyneth Paltrow of ‘ignoring’ her father in mountain ski crash

12:00 , Andrea Blanco

Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorney apologises for being an ‘ass’ to Mr Sanderson’s daughter

10:00 , Andrea Blanco

Gwyneth Paltrow’s lawyer apologised for being an “ass” to the daughter of the doctor suing the actress over a 2016 ski accident.

Attorney Stephen Owens made the admission after his cross-examination of Polly Sanderson Grasham, who had testified as a witness for her father, Terry Sanderson.

He claims Paltrow slammed into him in a “full body hit” leaving him with “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement”.

Mr Sanderson is seeking $300,000 in damages from the Oscar winner after alleging that her was left with permanent brain damage following the accident at the Deer Valley resort in Utah.

Mr Owens and Ms Sanderson Grasham had been involved in a tense questioning after she testified that her father had become angry and short-tempered after the accident.

Gwyneth Paltrow causing ski collision is most likely scenario, US court told

08:00 , Andrea Blanco

Gwyneth Paltrow colliding with a man from behind on a ski slope and falling on top of him is the “only scenario” that would explain his injuries, a US court has heard.

Terry Sanderson provided “a cushion” for the Oscar-winning actress during the incident at the Deer Valley resort in Utah in 2016, jurors were told.

The retired optometrist is suing Ms Paltrow over the crash, in which he suffered several broken ribs and a severe concussion.

Ms Paltrow has denied the claim and is counter-suing Mr Sanderson, alleging it was him that caused the collision.

Expert testifies about ski hit and run

06:00 , Andrea Blanco

On Thursday jurors heard testimony from Dr Richard Boehne, who said Mr Sanderson’s injuries could only have been caused by being struck from behind.

“He was hit by someone from the side and from behind, bear in mind that person landed on him. People who fall don’t get rib fractures… it takes something else,” he said.

“If you had a choice between Mr Sanderson hitting Ms Paltrow or Ms Paltrow hitting Mr Sanderson, you would have to pick Ms Paltrow hitting Mr Sanderson from behind and falling on top of him to account for the rib fractures.”

“If you were to compare two scenarios… there’s only one scenario that would account for enough force application to fracture those ribs and that would be Ms Paltrow striking Mr Sanderson from behind and falling to the ground.

“In essence he was like a cushion, if you will.”

Why is Gwyneth Paltrow in court?

04:00 , Andrea Blanco

Actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s day on the slopes in Park City, Utah was cut short seven years ago when she had to take some time to rest after she collided with another person coming down the hill.

She’s now taking part in a civil trial that began on Tuesday (21 March).

As she was climbing the hill on 26 February 2016, another skier slammed into her from behind. She suffered minor injuries, for which she says the man apologized immediately. She adds in her legal filing that she was “shaken and upset”

Gwyneth Paltrow faces court showdown over ‘hysterical King Kong’ ski crash

Gwyneth Paltrow’s children Apple and Moses set to testify in ski accident trial

03:02 , Graeme Massie

Hollywood star has been sued for $300,000 by a retired doctor following a 2016 crash on the lopes of Deer Valley, Utah.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s children Apple and Moses set to testify in ski accident trial

Gwyneth Paltrow claims extent of injuries exaggerated

02:00 , Andrea Blanco

Ms Paltrow says in her filing that Mr Sanderson’s injuries are exaggerated because an examination was conducted with his doctor, which didn’t reveal anything lacking in his cognitive functioning, the claim says.

The movie star’s filing states that medical records show that he was diagnosed with a “mild” concussion and that he has spent “extended periods of time” on vacation abroad following the crash.

A general view during the Dual Moguls Preliminary Rounds on day three of the Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Ski World Cup at Deer Valley Resort on February 04, 2023 in Park City, Utah

The counterclaim also alleges that Mr Sanderson had 15 chronic medical problems and that he had told his physician a year previously that he was blind in his right eye, and that the vision in his left eye was getting worse.

“She did not knock him down or cause him to suffer a concussion, brain injury, or broken ribs,” Ms Paltrow’s filing states.

Gwyneth Paltrow questioned over friendship with Taylor Swift in ski accident trial

01:04 , Graeme Massie

Retired optometrist heard ‘hysterical screaming’ before collision

00:00 , Andrea Blanco

Mr Sanderson alleges that Ms Paltrow was coming down the beginner slope of Bandana Run on Flagstaff mountain in an “out-of-control” manner, according to Court TV.

He claims that she struck him so hard that he was knocked out. At a press conference in 2019, he said that moments before the collision, he “heard this just hysterical screaming like … King Kong in the jungle or something”.

Terry Sanderson during a press conference in 2019

He said at the time that he thought the speed at which Ms Paltrow was allegedly coming at him could explain the extent of his injuries. “A little bitty bullet can make a big hole,” he said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

At that press conference announcing the lawsuit, Mr Sanderson said he noticed a number of large “slow down” signs as he headed down Bandana run, so he slowed down but still stayed with the flow of other skiers coming down the slope.

“It was just instantaneous,” he said in 2019. “I got hit in my back. ... It felt like it had just drove me forward.”

He said he could remember not being able to control himself as he went down.

“And then that’s all I remember to that point — just out,” he said.

Gwyneth Paltrow questioned over friendship with Taylor Swift in ski accident trial

Friday 24 March 2023 23:35 , Graeme Massie

‘I would not say we are good friends, we are friendly,’ Paltrow testified.

Gwyneth Paltrow questioned over friendship with Taylor Swift

Court is in recess for the weekend

Friday 24 March 2023 23:19 , Graeme Massie

The jury will return to the courtroom in Park City, Utah, at 9am MT on Monday morning.

Paltrow says she did not aks how Terry Sanderson was after accident

Friday 24 March 2023 23:01 , Graeme Massie

“He hit me and I was very upset,” she told the court.

She said her ski instructor had asked Mr Sanderson how he was and he had replied, “I am okay.”

And she said that she is now asking for more than a “symbolic $1.”

“For me, there is a delineation between the $1 I would receive and the lawyer fees being reimbursed,” she added.

Gwyneth Paltrow paid almost $9000 for private ski lessons

Friday 24 March 2023 22:53 , Graeme Massie

“That’s what they charged,” said Gwyneth Paltrow said with a deep sigh. “This is what Deer Valley charges when you go and ask for a private instructor, that’s the fee, unfortunately.”

She was asked if Terry Sanderson had hurt her during the accident.

“He did. when we fell over my right knee felt like it had been over-stretched and my back hurt,” she said.

The Hollywood star told the court she got a massage after the incident but did not have to seek any medical care.

Gwyneth Paltrow says she feels ‘very sorry’ for Terry Sanderson but did not cause accident

Friday 24 March 2023 22:34 , Graeme Massie

Gwyneth Paltrow told the court on Friday afternoon under cross-examination that she felt “very sorry for” Terry Sanderson.

“It seems he has had a very difficult life but I did not cause the accident so I cannot be at fault for anything that subsequently happened to him,” she told the jury.

The actor also testified that she did not give Sanderson brain injuries that her defence lawyer says showed up on a 2006 MRI.

The court was shown a selfie photograph of Ms Paltrow and her son Moses on the ski lift on the day of the accident and she testified that she always wears a helmet when she skis for safety and for some anonymity.

“When I am skiing I like to try to keep a low profile,” she added.

She was also asked about her history of skiing with her father, who died when he was in his 50s, causing her to step away from the sport for a while.

“I was pretty devastated by his death and being in a ski resort or on a chairlift was difficult for me and I avoided it for a few years until I had my own kids and I heard his voice in my head telling me I should teach them to ski,” she said.

She told the court that her first husband Chris Martin of Coldplay, did not ski but she had started again with now husband Brad Falchuk in an attempt to “blend” their two families.

She added that she was not distracted and was paying attention to where she was skiing on the day of the accident.

Gwyneth Paltrow says she first thought ski crash was sexual assault and ‘froze’

Friday 24 March 2023 22:24 , Graeme Massie

‘I thought, is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted? This is very strange,’ actor told a Utah court

Gwyneth Paltrow says she first thought ski crash was sexual assault and ‘froze’

Gwyneth Paltrow did not ask anyone at Deer Valley about Mr Sanderson’s condition

Friday 24 March 2023 21:52 , Andrea Blanco

“Did you ever ask, ‘Hey how is that guy who ran into my back,’ Did you ask anyone at Deer Valley about that?” an attorney for Mr Sanderson asked.

Ms Paltrow answered: “I did not because at the time, I did not know he had sustained injuries like that.”

“... When you are the victim of a crash, your psychology is not necessarily about the person who perpetrated it.”

Goop Mogul says she is ‘starting to shrink'

Friday 24 March 2023 21:34 , Andrea Blanco

Under cross-examination, Ms Paltrow was asked how tall she is.

“I’m just under 5’10,” Ms Paltrow said.

Her answer prompted an unlikely pleasant exchange between her and an attorney for the man who is suing her.

“I’m so jealous,” the lawyer said.

Ms Paltrow then said: “I’m starting to shrink, though.”

“You and me both. I have to wear four-inch heels just to make it to 5’5’’.”

Gwyneth Paltrow briefly thought ski collision was sexual assault

Friday 24 March 2023 21:28 , Andrea Blanco

Ms Paltrow says she “froze” when two skis came between hers, “forcing her legs apart.”

“And then there was a body pressing against me and there was a very strange, grunting noise,” Ms Paltrow said. “My brain was trying to make sense of what was happening.”

“I thought, is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted? This is very strange.”

The Goop mogul later clarified that she was not accusing Mr Sanderson of sexual assault, but that at the moment of the accident, her brain was trying to reconcile what was going on.

Gwyneth Paltrow confronted for ‘lack of common decency’

Friday 24 March 2023 21:15 , Andrea Blanco

When asked if she was aware that not leaving the scene of a ski collision is not only a rule in skiing but also common decency, Ms Paltrow argued that she had left her information with her skiing instructor.

“Because I was hit by Mr Sanderson and I assumed he was at fault,” Ms Paltrow said. “[My instructor] said he would leave all the information ... I said you should go ski down because my kids were waiting for me.”

Gwyneth Paltrow takes the stand

Friday 24 March 2023 20:58 , Andrea Blanco

Court takes recess

Friday 24 March 2023 20:49 , Andrea Blanco

Judge Kent Holmberg said parties will reconvene in 30 minutes.

GoPro video footage of Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash may not exist

Friday 24 March 2023 20:31 , Andrea Blanco

Rumoured GoPro video footage of Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski collision may not actually exist, the court has heard on Friday.

Reference to footage of the 2016 incident had previously been made during the trial in an email sent by Mr Sanderson’s daughter.

The jury was previously shown an email, sent by Shae Sanderson-Herath, in which she referred to possible GoPro footage of the crash.

But giving evidence on Friday, Ms Sanderson-Herath said she had not actually seen any such footage, though she had believed it existed at the time.

“After my dad told me about what he was feeling and that he could hardly think, and that he had rung his bell I believe he mentioned, there had to be GoPro video,” she told the court.

“He said there has to be GoPro footage because there was this big blood-curdling scream, so that means someone with a GoPro would have turned to look and captured it.”

She added: “I have never seen GoPro video and I don’t know that it does exist. I believed there was GoPro video at the time and that’s why I said that.

“I just wanted my dad to have peace of mind that there was video out there that showed what happened.”

Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorney hits out at Terry Sanderson’s daughter

Friday 24 March 2023 19:59 , Andrea Blanco

Steve Owens said he felt like “the wet blanket” exposing unpleasantries because Mr Sanderson’s daughters were painting an unfavourably positive view of him.

“Help me out,” Mr Owens said. “Are you saying that everything about your dad’s personality was good before the accident and everything about your dad’s personality was bad after the accident?

Under cross-examination, Shae Sanderson denied those remarks.

WATCH: Moment Terry Sanderson’s daughter accuses Gwyneth Paltrow of ‘ignoring’ her father in mountain ski crash

Friday 24 March 2023 19:44 , Andrea Blanco

Terry Sanderson was ‘fun-loving, gregarious goer’ before accident, daughter tells jury

Friday 24 March 2023 19:17 , Andrea Blanco

On Thursday, the court heard testimony from Mr Sanderson’s daughter, Polly Sanderson-Grasham.

Ms Sanderson-Grasham said her father had been a “fun-loving, gregarious” man prior to the incident, describing him as a “goer” and a “real positive influence”, as well as an experienced skier.

But she said seeing him at her own daughter’s graduation around three months after the skiing crash had been like a “slap in the face”.

“I felt like ‘wow’. There was a moment when I almost expected drool to come out of his mouth,” she said.

“He wasn’t engaged with anyone… that was my first slap in the face that something is terribly wrong.”

She added that her father could now not “see the forest for the trees” and got stuck “in the minutiae” of things.

“He’s easily frustrated, he gets agitated, angry – I didn’t have memory of him being an angry person but he’s got a pretty short fuse these days,” she said.

“I think he’s just a little more cautious, not as confident – he’s in a really negative place and that’s hard for me as his daughter.”

Ms Sanderson-Grasham later became emotional, telling the court: “I hope that (my father) moves on. I hope that we’re able to put this very strange chapter behind us.

“We don’t always choose the doors we walk through but we can choose how we walk through them. We have a lot of healing to do.”

Terry Sanderson accuses Gwyneth Pattrow of ‘ignoring’ him in mountain ski crash

Friday 24 March 2023 18:17 , Andrea Blanco

In court on Friday, Mr Sanderson’s attorneys showed his daughter the picture of a park employee who took him to be evaluated in the immediate aftermath of the ski crash.

Mr Sanderson sent the picture to his daughter Shae once he was transported to the hospital.

“Whitney had me entertained while probing me with questions to evaluate my senses. A dedicated outdoor person and house lover from Michigan,” he wrote. “She also took me down to the toboggan by herself and won the DV Women Downhill race contest. A sweetheart”

“I recognize this woman’s smile and I do remember he had an awful day but this woman came to his rescue,” Shae testified. “She was his angel and took care of him finally, after a long time of being ignored in the mountain.”

The defence objected to the remarks, and the judge agreed that the comment should be stricken and disregarded by the jury.

Terry Sanderson’s daughter says there is no GoPro video of ski collision

Friday 24 March 2023 17:55 , Andrea Blanco

Terry Sanderson’s daughter Shae explained her mention of a GoPro video of the accident in an email thread.

“After my dad told me about what he was feeling and that he could hardly think, his brain was numb,” Shae told the jury. “He couldn’t breathe without having a stabbing sensation in his chest.”

She added: “I believe he mentioned that with this resort and so many people on the screen run, there had to be GoPro video.”

“He said, ‘There has to be GoPro footage, there just has to be, because there was this blood-curdling scream before I got hit in the back and that means a person with a GoPro camera would look toward [the scene of the accident] and get it on their GoPro video.”

Mr Sanderson’s daughter takes the stand

Friday 24 March 2023 17:30 , Andrea Blanco

Shay Sanderson Herth is called to the stand to testify about the impact of the skiing collision on her father.

Family member says he can only take Mr Sanderson ‘in small dosis’ after accident

Friday 24 March 2023 17:28 , Andrea Blanco

Mr Herth said that Mr Sanderson had become anxious, frustrated and paranoid following the incident.

“You can only take Terry in small dosis now,” Mr Herth testified.

‘It was like day and night before and after the accident,’ court hears

Friday 24 March 2023 17:10 , Andrea Blanco

Mr Sanderson’s son-in-law’s brother Mark Stephen Herth testified in court on Friday.

Mr Herth said he briefly lived with Mr Sanderson in 2015 and still has a close friendship with him.

“His comprehension had gone down, he’d get confused,” Mr Herth said. “Confused, comprehension and after a few instances you could tell he was getting frustrated.”

“It was like day and night before and after the accident. I think he tried to go skiing a couple of times but I don’t think he’s gone since the accident.”

“It was clear to me that it was a dead end ... [H]e wasn’t mentally prepared to go skiing again.”

Defence tried to argue Mr Sanderson did not lose consciousness

Friday 24 March 2023 16:42 , Andrea Blanco

Dr Boehmer said that Mr Sanderson’s disorientation after the accident was indicative of a concussion.

Ms Paltrow’s attorneys argued that in the incident report, it wasn’t stated that Mr Sanderson lost consciousness.

“You don’t need to have your eyes closed, blacked out to call it a loss of consciousness. I can’t tell you the number of times on a Sunday afternoon, a football player is hit in the head and he just sits there, doing nothing. We immediately notice there is something wrong and we run out there ...”

“We know that is a loss of consciousness.”

Court takes short recess

Friday 24 March 2023 16:07 , Andrea Blanco

Terry Sanderson had ‘closed head injury’ when he was 10

Friday 24 March 2023 16:07 , Andrea Blanco

Dr Boehmer said that Mr Sanderson had reported suffering a close head injury when he was 10 years old.

The defence also brought up a fall following the 2016 skiing accident, which reportedly left Mr Sanderson unconscious for 45 minutes.

Elsewhere in cross-examination, the defence sought to poke holes in Dr Boehmer’s previous testimony that the most likely scenario was that Ms Paltrow crashed into Mr Sanderson instead of the other way around.

Terry Sanderson’s symptoms have been persistent for years, court hears

Friday 24 March 2023 15:38 , Andrea Blanco

Dr Richard Boehme testified over video on Friday that Mr Sanderson had had persistent symptoms from his brain injury for at least five years.

When asked about the defence’s attempts to pin Mr Sanderson’s symptoms on his pre-existent comorbidities, Dr Boehme said that hypertension, sleep apnea, prostate cancer and migraine would cause the post-concussion symptoms Mr Sanderson is experiencing.

Gwyneth Paltrow arrives in court for fourth day of trial

Friday 24 March 2023 15:12 , Andrea Blanco

WATCH TRIAL LIVE: Gwyneth Paltrow to take stand in ski crash trial in Utah

Friday 24 March 2023 15:00 , Andrea Blanco

Expert Richard Boehme says Sanderson is considered to have a “permanent” brain injury

Friday 24 March 2023 14:32 , Andrea Blanco

Given that Mr Sanderson’s brain injury has lasted more than 18 months, Dr Boehme said his traumatic brain injury (TBI) would be considered permanent.

Dr Boehme declined to comment on the severity of the TBI given the limited scope of his treatment of Mr Sanderson, but said the fact that he was still exhibiting symptoms when he evaluated him six years after the collision makes the chronic conditions of the injuries clear.

WATCH: Moment Paltrow’s attorney apologises for being ‘an ass'

Friday 24 March 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Gwyneth Paltrow’s security team offers ‘treats’ at ski trial

Friday 24 March 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Gwyneth Paltrow’s security team offered to bring “treats” to the bailiffs in the Utah courtroom where she is standing trial.

The Hollywood star and Goop CEO is being sued by retired optometrist Dr Terry Sanderson, 76, who claims she ploughed into him on the slopes of Flagstaff Mountain at the Deer Valley Resort on 26 February 2016.

Mr Sanderson claims Paltrow slammed into him in a “full body hit” leaving him with “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement”. Meanwhile, Ms . Paltrow claims it was Ms Sanderson who crashed into her.

Read the full story:

Judge responds after Gwyneth Paltrow’s security team offers ‘treats’ at ski tria

Terry Sanderson attorney claims Paltrow is ‘worried’ about case

Friday 24 March 2023 13:00 , Rachel Sharp

Terry Sanderson’s attorney has claimed that Gwyneth Paltrow is “worried” about the way the trial is going.

In court on Thursday, Mr Sanderon’s lawyer Robert Sykes hit out at the star’s legal team for asking his daughter about claims by another daughter that their father was abusive.

Mr Sykes claimed that Paltrow’s team was only going down that route because the actor “is worried about the way this case is going”.

“You can’t just attack someone’s character because his client is worried about the way this case is going,” he said.

Gwyneth Paltrow causing ski collision is most likely scenario, US court told

Friday 24 March 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp

Gwyneth Paltrow colliding with a man from behind on a ski slope and falling on top of him is the “only scenario” that would explain his injuries, a US court has heard.

Terry Sanderson provided “a cushion” for the Oscar-winning actress during the incident at the Deer Valley resort in Utah in 2016, jurors were told.

The retired optometrist is suing Ms Paltrow over the crash, in which he suffered several broken ribs and a severe concussion.

Ms Paltrow has denied the claim and is counter-suing Mr Sanderson, alleging it was him that caused the collision.

Both are expected to provide testimony at the trial on Friday.

On Thursday jurors heard testimony from Dr Richard Boehne, who said Mr Sanderson’s injuries could only have been caused by being struck from behind.

Read the story here:

Gwyneth Paltrow causing ski collision is most likely scenario, US court told

Terry Sanderson was ‘fun-loving, gregarious goer’ before accident, daughter tells jury

Friday 24 March 2023 12:00 , Andrea Blanco