Following Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial, Gwyneth Paltrow was the very last person we expected to be sitting before a judge.
The 50-year-old actress - who has become somewhat of a lifestyle influencer in recent years after founding her online business GOOP - is currently in the midst of a lawsuit brought against her by a man who is accusing her of seriously injuring him on a ski slope in 2016.
Terry Sanderson - a retired 76-year-old optometrist - had been vacationing at the Deer Valley resort in Utah when an allegedly "out of control" Paltrow "bolted" down the slope and crashed into him.
According to the lawsuit (obtained by Sky News) the Shakespeare in Love actress flew down the ski slope, "knocking [Sanderson] down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries [...] Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow."
Despite the accusations, Paltrow's legal team has maintained that Sanderson actually crashed into her, causing a "full body blow."
So far Craig Ramon, a witness to the incident and acquaintance of Sanderson, has given his testimony in court. At the time, he had been roughly 30ft away from the crash, and told the court: "We were skiing down the run and then I heard this yell, this scream, and then I looked over and... then I see this skier [Paltrow] just slam into the back of Terry."
Ramon continued: "She slammed him very hard. She hits him directly in the back, his skis go out and he falls face down, so he's kind of spread-eagled and Gwyneth is on top of him... and bounces off and slides about five or 10ft."
He then added that he had gone up to Paltrow and Sanderson, asking if they were okay. "Terry wasn't moving, his face was in the snow... his helmet was stuck in the snow. [Paltrow] just looked at me and I asked her again. She got up pretty quick... [but] she never said a word," he claimed.
Sanderson is claiming damages of more than $300,000, given that his condition deteriorated rapidly following the incident. Wendell Gibby, a radiologist, testified that: "After his accident, he deteriorated abruptly [...] And many of the activities that he used to do, he stopped doing," per The Guardian.
In a countersuit, Paltrow is seeking $1 and attorney fees - attempting to highlight how this current lawsuit is seriously affecting her reputation.
As the trial is set to continue into next week as well, it is expected that Sanderson's two daughters, as well as Paltrow's children Apple and Moses, will take the witness stand.
