Gwyneth Paltrow is reflecting on her 2023 ski crash trial.
Two years after winning a lawsuit filed by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson—who accused the Goop founder of causing a 2016 ski crash in which he sustained injuries—she did not mince words while recalling the legal saga.
“It was ridiculous,” she told Erin Foster and Sara Foster on the April 24 episode of the sisters’ World’s First Podcast. “And I have to say, the idea that someone 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.’”
The Oscar winner, who denied any wrongdoing in the case, filed her own countersuit against the eye doctor alleging that he was responsible for the collision and placed the blame on her “in an attempt to exploit her celebrity and wealth.” Looking back, she said her conviction was the reason she didn’t back down.
“That’s why I felt like I had to fight it,” she said during the podcast. “I’m not gonna be shaken down here. I’m not doing that.”
In the end, Gwyneth, 52, emerged victorious as a jury found Sanderson to be 100 percent at fault for the incident and granted her symbolic request of $1 in damages. At the time, a source present during the verdict told E! News the Shakespeare in Love actress leaned down to Sanderson after the verdict was handed down and told him, “I wish you well.”
Following her victory, Gwyneth told E! News in a statement that she “felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised [her] integrity.”
“I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury,” she said, “and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.”
Months after the trial concluded, Gwyneth was still shaken by the ordeal, describing it as a “pretty intense experience.”
“That whole thing was pretty weird,” she told the New York Times in September 2023. “I don't know that I've even processed it. It was something I felt like I survived.”
To see Gwyneth’s evolution through the years, keep reading.