Gwyneth Paltrow took the witness stand on day four of her ski accident trial and claimed to be the “victim.”
The US actress, 50, is being sued by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson. who claims she bumped into him and left him with significant brain injuries.
His defense is seeking up to $3,276,000 (£2,666,828) in damages, said Mr Lawrence Buhler, who is representing Ms Paltrow.
Meanwhile, Ms Paltrow, described by her legal team as a “conservative” skier, is suing Sanderson for a dollar, claiming he was the one who crashed into her.
Ms. Paltrow took the witness stand for questioning and began her testimony by describing herself as an “intermediate” skier and familiar with the rules of skiing.
She said she knew skiers had to leave their contact details in a collision, but that her ski instructor Eric Christiansen left hers for her.
“So since I was hit by Mr. Sanderson and it was his fault, I’m assuming that Eric … who was there at the time said I’m going to leave all your information because my kids were waiting for me,” she said.
“I would not have left the crime scene without leaving my information, and my information was left (by Eric) … I know afterwards that he did it. I wasn’t there when it was given.’
Ms Paltrow wore a navy blue skirt and button-down blouse and occasionally drank from a glass bottle.
She continued to deny that she engaged in “risky behavior” on the day of the collision.
“I have not shown any risky behavior. I would not engage in risky behavior with or without my children,” she said.
“I’ve always been open and honest with my kids and they know me very well.”
Ms Paltrow repeated several times that Mr Sanderson drove into her from behind.
“My daughter was down the hill, my son was on my left, so I was skiing and my eyes weren’t fixed on my son when Mr. Sanderson skied right in my back,” she said.
“At first I was confused and didn’t know exactly what was going on. It’s a very strange thing to happen on a ski slope. I froze and I would say I was very upset a few seconds later.’
She added: “(I thought) Is this a prank? Is someone doing something kinky? … my mind was very quick trying to figure out what was happening.’
According to Ms Paltrow’s statement, the couple had “collapsed” and their bodies “almost spooned”.
To illustrate, a member of Mr. Sanderson’s legal team attempted to reenact the sequence of events in the courtroom, with Ms. Paltrow giving her instructions.
Mr. Sanderson, who was also present in the courtroom, watched the recovery.
As the proceedings progressed, Ms Paltrow admitted that neither her ski instructor nor her children had seen the incident and had no recollection that fellow skier Craig Ramon was there.
Mr Ramon has previously testified at the trial, saying he saw the actress “hit” Mr Sanderson.
“I didn’t believe what he said,” Ms. Paltrow said. “I don’t think he saw what he thought he saw. He said he was 40 feet away and color blind. I don’t know how he can be positive with what he saw, especially with how much he changed his story.
“If you have two people in ski gear with helmets and they’re 40 feet apart, I don’t know how you can tell who’s who.”
She added: “Mr Sanderson hit me and that is categorically the truth.”
Ms Paltrow claimed that when you’re the victim of an accident, your psychology doesn’t necessarily think about the person who committed it.
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