Gwyneth Paltrow has appeared in court on charges of ‘hitting’ a 72-year-old retired optometrist while skiing in Utah‘s Deer Valley Resort in February 2016.
The Oscar winner, 50, was set for the second of her eight-day trial in Third District Court in Park City, Utah, where she claimed she had not hit Sanderson and was instead the victim of the crash.
Dr. Terry Sanderson, 76, sued Paltrow in January 2019, claiming she crashed into the back of him and left the scene at Bandana Mountain.
He initially sought damages of more than $3.1 million after the accident left him with “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of joy, emotional distress and disfigurement.”
A judge rejected Sanderson’s original hit-and-run claim, and the Utah Resort and Paltrow’s instructor were removed from the lawsuit — and it’s now a $300,000 claim solely against the actress.
Body language expert Judi James has analyzed Paltrow’s behavior and revealed that she believes the Hollywood actress burst into court “like a school teacher arriving to start classes.”
Gwyneth Paltrow has appeared in court on charges of ‘hitting’ a 72-year-old retired optometrist while skiing at Utah’s Deer Valley Resort in February 2016
Body language expert Judi James has analyzed Paltrow’s behavior and revealed she believes the Hollywood actress burst into court ‘like a school teacher arriving to start lessons’
Retired optometrist Dr. Terry Sanderson, 76, (pictured) sued Paltrow in January 2019, claiming she crashed into the back of him and left the scene at Bandana Mountain
Paltrow’s body language seems to fluctuate between two extremes: with her eyebrows raised or arched and her chin up, she can come across as superior and somewhat dismissive.
As she sits down, she squeezes into her chair and crosses her legs thoughtfully. Smoothing and smoothing her clothes and hair, she pulls her sweater down over her torso as if trying to create a sense of calm, order, and control. While the accuser is speaking, there is even what appears to be a soft tap of her fingers to suggest impatience.
But then there are nonverbal cues that seem designed to suggest vulnerability and a desire to protect or hide oneself. The turtleneck on her sweater is not rolled up, so it sticks up like a funnel with her head sticking out.
At one point, as they gather for a break, she drops her head dramatically in a manner that almost implies tears or a partial breakdown, turns in her chair and rubs the neck of her water bottle with her fingers.
At one point there is a strangely nervous-looking girlish giggle to the judge, and as she exits the courtroom, she appears to run away, covering her face with a notebook or folder as if oblivious to not being on all the time. cameras in the courtroom and suddenly suffers from a desire to hide.
Paltrow arrived at the courthouse looking like someone in near physical pain. Her long, thick coat was wrapped double around her torso and one arm just as tight around her waist.
With her head down and her eyes hidden behind a pair of large sunglasses, she seemed desperate for a barrier to hide behind. Even her free hand went up to perform a ritual for a partial haircut, hiding her face as she ran it through her hair.
Once inside, she seemed to pick up on cues of increased confidence and authority. Paltrow burst into the courtroom like a schoolteacher starting class. As she smoothed and brushed her hair, she ignored the man who bravely pushed back her chair for her and tossed her file onto the desk.
Her eyebrows were raised in a gesture of mild contempt and she made several purses with her lips to reinforce this authority. She seemed eager to handle this.
Her body language seemed to fluctuate between two extremes after this: with her eyebrows raised or arched and her chin up, she could come across as superior and slightly dismissive.
As she sat down, she squeezed into her chair with a gesture of impatience and crossed her legs with an air of deliberation. She smoothed and smoothed her clothes and hair and pulled her sweater over her torso like a flap, as if trying to create a sense of calm, order, and control.
Holding the sweater suggested fear, as did sucking her lips in as she did it. As the prosecutor spoke, there was even something like a soft tap of her fingers to suggest a slight impatience, as if she had to go somewhere else.
The Oscar winner, 50, sat for the third of her eight-day trial in Third District Court in Park City, Utah, where she claims she did not hit Sanderson and was instead the victim of the crash
A judge rejected Sanderson’s original hit-and-run claim and the Utah Resort and Paltrow’s instructor were removed from the lawsuit — and it’s now a $300,000 claim solely against the actress (pictured in court on Tuesday)
Paltrow in a social media post the year before the accident at the Deer Valley resort in Utah. She captioned the post: ’20 years later and I still have it #justlikeridingabike’
But then there were nonverbal cues that seem designed to suggest vulnerability and a desire to protect or hide oneself. Once the enveloping, self-hugging gesture of comfort was removed from her coat, the turtleneck on her sweater hadn’t rolled up, so it stuck up like a funnel with her head sticking out.
At one point, as they gathered for a break, she lowered her head dramatically in a gesture that made her look momentarily broken, indicating the onset of tears or a partial breakdown.
She turned in her chair in a voluntary rocking motion and rubbed her fingers over the neck of her water bottle, a sign of fear. When she raised her head from this ritual though her chin was lifted, she suggested that she had regrouped and gathered her previous sense of authority.
There was an oddly nervous-looking girlish giggle to the judge at one point, as if eager to portray them as an ally.
When she left the courtroom, she seemed to run away. Suddenly camera-shy despite being openly on camera for the procedure, she covered her face with her large folder and held it up in a defensive gesture as if oddly expecting to be taken into court.
This desire to hide seemed sudden and somewhat irrational under the circumstances, perhaps driven by both fear and a knee-jerk desire for A-list-style privacy.