Gwyneth Paltrow's lawyer spoke about the actress' experience in court as she won her legal battle over a ski crash.
Paltrow was accused by Terry Sanderson of skiing "out of control" when she hit him at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, in 2016.
This week a judge ruled in favour of Paltrow after a jury took just two hours to return a verdict in favour of the Hollywood actress. She was awarded compensatory damages of one dollar.
Now the actress' legal counsel has declared the actress was used as a "punching bag" for the case which lasted two weeks.
Stephen Owens, representing Gwyneth Paltrow, said the actress had been “uncomfortable” during proceedings.
Addressing the jury at the end of the case, Owens said: "It takes a lot of courage does it not?
"(Mr Sanderson’s) life has been laid open – that’s because of him. He hit her. He hurt her and he wants three million dollars for it.
"That’s not fair. The easy thing for my client would have been to write a cheque and be done with it – but what does that tell her kids?
"It’s wrong, it’s actually wrong that he hurt her and he wants money from her."
He described Paltrow's reaction to the accident when it happened as he said: "Gwyneth is p***** off.
"If you hit someone do you yell at the person you just hit? No. The hittee – is usually the unhappy one."
He added: "This is a meritless claim.
"You don’t throw a three-million-dollar bombshell in the courtroom, call her (Gwyneth Paltrow) King Kong, and walk away. You shouldn’t reward that.
"Gwyneth, who could have just paid it out, paid the ransom, (said) 'no I’m not doing that. I’m not going to have someone hurt me and then ask me for a lot of money. I’m not going to do it'."
Sanderson had been seeking damages of $300,000 (£246,000) in the civil lawsuit, while Paltrow, filed a counterclaim, in which she wanted her legal fees paid and damages of $1 (82p).
Speaking after her victory in court, Paltrow said she was "pleased with the outcome".
She said: "I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity.
"I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case."
