Gwyneth Paltrow testifies in ski crash trial, claims she thought crash was sexual assault

Gwyneth Paltrow testified Friday (Mar. 24, 2023) in the civil trial stemming from a 2016 skiing accident at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah.

Terry Sanderson has accused the actress and Goop founder of crashing into him and causing him severe injuries while they were both skiing — a lawsuit that Paltrow testified that she thinks is unfair, saying she didn’t cause the accident.

Paltrow’s testimony revealed that she initially thought the collision was a sexual assault when she and Sanderson, 76, crashed into each other on the slopes.

“So that was a quick thought that went through my head when I tried to reconcile what was happening,” Paltrow recalled when asked about the sexual assault remark.

“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 so 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 really, really strange.’ My mind was going very quickly and I was trying to ascertain what was happening.”

“My brain was trying to make sense of what was happening,” she said. “I thought, ‘Is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?’”

She said that she was “very upset” and angry and yelled at him, “You skied directly into my f—ing back!”

Sanderson alleges that Paltrow crashed into him, leaving him with a concussion, four broken ribs, and a lasting brain injury.

Sanderson originally sued the actress, Deer Valley Resort, and an instructor for $3.1 million and claimed he was a victim of a hit-and-run. A judge dismissed the claim, and Deer Valley Resort and the instructor were removed from the lawsuit.

Paltrow has maintained that Sanderson skied into her and claimed she stuck around until a Deer Valley Resort ski instructor gave her the OK to leave. The 50-year-old actress also said in her countersuit that Sanderson previously admitted he didn’t have a clear memory of the accident.

“I feel very sorry for him. It seems like he’s 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 testified.

The actress is seeking attorneys’ fees and $1.