Gwyneth Paltrow has opened up about the ski lawsuit brought against her, saying she is still “processing” the bizarre, highly-publicised trial.
Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson said the actor and wellness guru crashed into him on the upmarket Deer Valley ski resort in Utah in 2016. In March, she was cleared of any wrongdoing.
And now, seven months after winning the case, the 51-year-old Oscar-winner called the episode “pretty weird.”
“I don’t know that I’ve even processed it. It was something I felt like I survived,” she told the New York Times.
“Sometimes in my life it takes me a long time to look back and process something and understand something.”
Sanderson sued Ms Paltrow over the crash at the Deer Valley ski resort in Utah over seven years ago, which left him with several broken ribs and severe head injuries.
She had denied the claim, and accused Mr Sanderson of crashing into her, resulting in her losing “half a day of skiing” with her family and being “sore”.
Jurors returned a verdict clearing her of all fault after just over two hours of deliberation, and apportioned “100 per cent” of the blame to Mr Sanderson for the crash.
They also awarded the actress her “symbolic” counterclaim of one dollar in damages, as well as attorney fees.
The Oscar-winning actress thanked jurors after the verdict was returned in her favour.
“I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,” Ms Paltrow wrote in a statement on her Instagram story, shortly after the verdict.
“I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge [Kent] Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.”
Both she and Mr Sanderson were present in court as the verdict was read out.
Ms Paltrow wore a blue blazer, with a white shirt and brown trousers, and did not appear to react as the verdict was returned, but let out a long breath.
Mr Sanderson said the verdict had been “very disappointing” and continued: “You get some assumed credibility in being a famous person.
“Who wants to take on a celebrity? Someone who learns lines and how to play someone else’s part.”
Asked if he believed Ms Paltrow had been lying, he echoed remarks made during the trial, saying: “I believe she thinks she has the truth. I believe she thinks that.”
