The American actress has been appearing since March 21 in a Utah court. Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist accuses him of having knocked him down on skis in 2016.
A skiing accident, a haughty star and cameras, all the ingredients are there to make the trial of Gwyneth Paltrow in Utah a crisp event. The American actress has been appearing in court in Utah since March 21.
She is accused by a certain Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, of having knocked him down on skis and fleeing. The man assures that the shock caused him “brain damage, four broken ribs and other serious injuries”, and claims 300,000 dollars in damages. Gwyneth Paltrow counterattacks and demands a symbolic dollar.
Terry Sanderson had brought a first lawsuit against Gwyneth Paltrow in 2019, claiming the actress 3.1 million dollars (nearly 2.9 million euros) in damages, but this request had been rejected by justice.
If this trial is much less murky than the one that opposed Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard last year, it fascinates almost as much the public, who follows every twist.
It must be said that, like the Depp-Heard trial, the trial of Gwyneth Paltrow is entirely filmed, as required by law in the United States. And the best moments are the delight of the press and social networks every day. Unlike the Depp-Heard trial, this case arouses mostly amused reactions, far from the outpouring of hatred that actress Amber Heard had known.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Personality
If the stakes of this trial are much less dramatic, the personality of the accused has something to fascinate the public. American actress, Oscar winner for her role in Shakespeare in lovehas indeed become a wellness guru with her website and magazine Goopbut also a documentary.
Gwyneth Paltrow is regularly criticized for the pseudo-scientific wellness products and methods she promotes. Some are found to be untruthful even dangerous, like the well-being patches supposed to come from space suits or the vaginal eggs made of jade stone, others just lend themselves to a smile, like her vagina-scented candles.
Without being controversial, the personality of Gwyneth Paltrow is therefore sometimes mocked for her snobbery. Like when she announced her separation from Chris Martin in 2014, evoking a “conscious uncoupling”, a convoluted paraphrase to talk about a divorce.
A decorticated look
During her testimonials last week and this week, the actress did not disappoint, displaying an air sometimes bored, sometimes dismissive. Blessed bread for Internet users. From the first day of the trial, March 21, the glasses she wore earned her comparisons to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, in Adam Driver in House of Gucci or to “a villain in Columbo”.
“Exactly the kind of 1980s aviator glasses you have to wear when you’re being sued by a retired optometrist,” joked one Twitter user.
Le Wall Street Journal devotes a whole article to this model of glasses, popular among “older and elegant women looking to project a tough but cool look”.
Her outfits are dissected, like this very 17th century look, perfect for a witchcraft trial. THE Guardian dissects in an article the “chic billionaire” of the actress’ wardrobe, which seems straight out of an advertisement for the Italian luxury brand Loro Piana specializing in cashmere, nicknamed “Uniqlo for billionaires”.
Memes and derivative objects
One line in particular, uttered by the star, instantly went viral and the subject of memes. Asked by a lawyer about what she lost in this collision with Terry Sanderson, Gwyneth Paltrow replied, looking bored, “well I lost half a day of skiing”.
“The whole trial was written by Mike White”, laughs a surfer on Twitter, in reference to the creator of the hit series The White Lotus, on the setbacks of wealthy vacationers. “It’s an SNL skit,” joked another.
“Gwyneth Paltrow didn’t get an Oscar for Shakespeare in love, she got it for ‘well I lost half a day of skiing’.”
The sentence and the saddened face of Gwyneth Paltrow now very opportunely adorn t-shirts, mugs and cushions.
The pleadings are due to end on Thursday and the jury will begin deliberating on Friday. To the chagrin of fans, the trial of Gwyneth Paltrow is therefore soon over
