Two years after her courtroom showdown, Gwyneth Paltrow is speaking her mind about the dramatic legal saga.
The Academy Award winner and Goop founder, who emerged victorious in her 2023 ski crash trial against retired eye doctor Terry Sanderson, shared her take on the headline-grabbing case during an April 24 chat on The World’s First Podcast with Erin & Sara Foster.
Paltrow was sued in 2019 by Sanderson, who claimed she seriously injured him during a February 2016 crash on the beginner slopes at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. Sanderson said the actress left him on the mountain without help, while Paltrow alleged in a counterclaim that Sanderson plowed into her from behind and then told her he was fine.
“It was ridiculous,” Paltrow told hosts Erin and Sara Foster after the sisters praised her in-court fashion. “And I have to say, the idea that somebody could ski into your back and knock you down and then sue you — I was like, ‘This is everything that’s wrong with our legal system.'”
Sanderson sought $300,000 in damages from Paltrow in his lawsuit, claiming the accident was a result of negligence that left him with physical injuries and emotional distress. The man initially sought $3.1 million in an earlier lawsuit, which was dropped.
“It takes a lot of courage, does it not, for her to sit there for two weeks and be pounded like a punching bag?” said Paltrow’s attorney Steve Owens during the trial’s closing statements. “The easy thing for my client would have been to write a check and be done with it. … It’s actually wrong that he hurt her, and he wants money from her.”
The lifestyle guru came out on top after an eight-day trial in March 2023, with the jury finding Paltrow not responsible for the alleged “hit-and-run” collision.
“That’s why I felt like I had to fight it,” Paltrow said on “World’s First Podcast.” “I’m not gonna be shaken down here. I’m not doing that.”
Paltrow was awarded $1 in symbolic damages for her counterclaim in addition to her attorney fees. Before the verdict, the actress vowed to donate any additional funds potentially awarded by the jury to a charitable organization.
