Gwyneth Paltrow may be an Oscar-winning thespian, but when was the last time she played Marvel’s Pepper Potts (or herself, as she did in last year’s She Said)? Fun fact: It’s the 2015 comedy Mortdecai. She’s mostly about Goop nowadays, where she peddles things like a “vagina candle” that once almost blew up and hurt someone. Speaking of, you may remember that time in 2016 when she was involved in a skiing incident that allegedly left a retired optometrist ailing. Now, some seven years later, the trial over it is set to kick off on Tuesday. And it is complicated.
As per The New York Post, Paltrow may or may not take the stand in a Park City, Utah courtroom, where she may defend herself from accusations of seriously injuring one Terry Sanderson. He’s claimed that Paltrow was skiing “out of control” on the Park City slopes and knocked right into him. Sanderson says he was left with a traumatic brain injury, broken ribs, and a loss in enjoyment of life.
But Paltrow and her lawyers are calling bull. For one thing, Paltrow claims it was Sanderson who ran into her with a “full-body blow.” What’s more, they’re calling into question Sanderson’s claims that he developed medical issues due to her. He had 15 other chronic issues, they say, and brain tests done afterwards didn’t show “any deficits in his cognitive functioning.”
She also says Sanderson simply doesn’t accurately recall what went down.
“Ms. Paltrow remembers what happened very clearly,” read Paltrow’s counter-claim. “She was enjoying skiing with her family on vacation in Utah, when Plaintiff — who was uphill from Ms. Paltrow — plowed into her back … Ms. Paltrow was angry with Plaintiff, and said so. Plaintiff apologized.”
The two will duke it out to convince a jury their side of the story is the correct one. Whatever happens, neither side will receive a huge pay day. Sanderson had asked for $3.1 million, but a judge ruled he cannot seek punitive damages, and therefore can only seek $300,000. Paltrow, meanwhile, is seeking a mere $1, which is $74 shy of what one needs to purchase a “vagina candle” on Goop, not including taxes and shipping.
(Via NY Post)