The Can’t Help But Stan-Ability of Gwyneth's Ski Trial
A dissection of the curious proceedings and their place in pop culture discourse.
There’s something distinctly unserious about the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial, a dramatic eight-day saga which ultimately found the Academy Award-winning actress, four-time New York Times-bestselling cookbook author, and founder/CEO of the lo-fi weekly newsletter turned lifestyle company Goop not at fault (or Gwynnocent, if you will) in a 2016 ski collision that she was being sued for to the tune of $300,000 — down from the initial $3.1 million.
Terry Sanderson, a seventy-six-year-old retired optometrist, testified about a “serious, serious smack” on the slopes that sent him “absolutely flying.” Paltrow argued that it was, in fact, Sanderson who skied into her “effing back” and then fled the scene. While Sanderson claimed the incident left him with broken ribs, brain trauma, and the inability to enjoy wine tastings, Paltrow held firm that Sanderson was using her fame to try and bleed her of millions of dollars. In the end, Gwyneth came out on top. She usually does.
“I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,” Ms. Paltrow said in a statement following the verdict, which awarded her the $1 she had requested in her countersuit (along with lawyer fees).
Meanwhile, a headline over on People Magazine: “Terry Sanderson Says Gwyneth Paltrow Case Was Not Worth It: 'I'm Gonna Be on the Internet Forever.’”
I think it’s important that we table set where Gywneth Paltrow was pop culturally in the week leading up to the trial. Paltrow is a rare breed of mega-celebrity who is also an unconscious quote generator due to her penchant for candor. She’s always been this way, but unlike her contemporaries, she remains so even amidst a social media climate that has rendered many once-outspoken celebrities quite, how shall we say… careful when it comes to being their unbridled selves.
Among my favorite Gwyneth utterances: