Gwyneth Paltrow has insisted that she was the “victim” of a skiing collision with a retired optometrist during an accident at a resort in Utah.
The Oscar-winning actress was speaking while giving evidence in a civil case brought by Terry Sanderson, who is suing the actress for $300,000 (£245,000) over the incident at Deer Valley in 2016.
Mr Sanderson, 76, says he was left with several broken ribs and a severe concussion, as well as mental and physical injuries after Paltrow “slammed” into him on the slopes.
But Paltrow, 50, is counter-suing for the symbolic figure of $1, claiming that Mr Sanderson collided with her.
Speaking in court on Friday, Paltrow said she initially thought that she was being sexually assaulted during the collision, saying she had felt “a body pressing against me” and that she had heard “a strange grunting noise”.
She admitted feeling “very upset” about the incident and had shouted: “You skied directly into my f****** back!” at Mr Sanderson.
Paltrow testified on the fourth day of the trial, having attended court every day since Tuesday.
Describing herself as an “intermediate” skier who was “familiar” with the rules of skiing, Paltrow denied that she had been engaging in “risky behaviour” on the slopes and repeated multiple times that she had been skied into from behind by Mr Sanderson.
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Image: The actress has attended all four days of the trial
“I was confused at first and I didn’t know exactly what was happening,” she said.
“It’s a very strange thing to happen on a ski slope. I froze and I would say I got very upset a couple of seconds later.”
She added: “[I thought] is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?… my mind was going very quickly and trying to ascertain what was happening.”
Image: Terry Sanderson. Pic: AP
Mr Sanderson’s lawyer Ms Van Orman attempted to get Paltrow to reconstruct the sequence of events in the court room, but had to make do with recreating the events herself.
Paltrow said: “I was skiing and two skis came between my skis, forcing my legs apart.
“And then there was a body pressing against me.”
“Was he grinding or thrusting?” Ms Van Orman asked. “What made you think it was a sexual assault?”
Paltrow replied: “It was a quick thought that went through my head.
No stranger to the spotlight, Paltrow looked at ease in court
Gwyneth Paltrow is no stranger to the spotlight but this was an entirely different prospect, testifying in a legal battle which has been going on for more than seven years.
She and Terry Sanderson have completely different versions of events for the accident at Deer Valley ski resort in February 2016.
She says he skied into the back of her from above; he says she ploughed into him like “Godzilla” from behind.
Given their drastically different accounts, one of them must be either lying or completely mis-remembering what happened and that will be for the jury to decide.
For her part, Paltrow looked at ease even when being questioned by Sanderson’s lawyer, at one point complimenting her on her choice of shoes.
She was cross-examined by her own lawyer, smiling and even laughing as they spoke about her ex-husband, the Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin and new partner, Brad Falchuk.
Her lawyer also said they expect to call her two children Apple and Moses – of whom Paltrow is fiercely protective – to testify next week.
“There was a strange grunting noise and a body behind me so I was trying to make sense of what was going on.
“What you have to remember is that when you’re a victim of a crash, your psychology is not necessarily thinking about the person who perpetrated it.
“Mr Sanderson hit me and that is categorically the truth.”
Later, under cross examination from her attorney Stephen Owens, Paltrow said she felt “very sorry” for Mr Sanderson.
“I really do feel very sorry for him,” she said.
“It seems like he’s had a very difficult life but I did not cause the accident so I cannot be at fault for what subsequently happened to him.”
A handwritten note recovered after a deadly shooting in Dallas detailed the suspect’s desire to inflict “real terror” on US immigration agents, the head of the FBI has said.
One person was killed and two people were critically injured after a gunman opened fire at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday.
All three victims were in a transport van outside the facility at the time, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
Several more people were injured before the gunman took his own life, officials said.
Image: Joshua Jahn has been named as the suspected gunman
FBI director, Kash Patel, said the agency had seized devices and processed “writings” obtained at the scene and in the suspect’s home since the attack.
A handwritten note recovered read: “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?”
The FBI previously said the suspect left a bullet casing engraved with the phrase “ANTI-ICE” at the scene.
Mr Kash said in a post on X: “While the investigation is ongoing, an initial review of the evidence shows an ideological motive behind this attack.”
Image: One of the bullet casings was engraved with ‘ANTI ICE’. Pic: Kash Patel/X
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Sky News partner NBC that ICE agents pulled some of the detainees out of the line of fire.
“The shooter was just shooting at random vehicles inside,” Mr Lyons said
“They were still hit inside the vehicle. You know, there were some brave men and women on the ground that went into those vans, pulling those detainees out while they were under fire.”
According to the FBI, evidence recovered so far shows a high level of planning ahead of the shooting, including searches of buildings belonging to the Dallas County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Image: The shooting happened at an ICE field office in Dallas. Pic: Reuters
Officials have not yet disclosed the identity of the victims.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem identified the gunman, in a Fox News interview, as Joshua Jahn, 29.
Ms Noem said he had fired the bullets from a nearby rooftop.
Mr Jahn’s older brother, Noah Jahn, who lives around 30 miles north of Dallas in McKinney, said he was not aware his brother held any negative feelings towards ICE.
He said: “I didn’t know he had any political intent at all.”
The shooting comes at a time of heightened tension in the US following the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
Mr Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead by a sniper while speaking at an event in Utah on 10 September.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with the murder of Mr Kirk.
The Trump administration will work to prevent FIFA banning Israel from international football ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Sky News can reveal.
It comes as we have also learnt that European governing body UEFA is heading towards its own decision to suspend Israeli teams over the war in Gaza – with many FAs and members of the executive committee understood to favour that.
Israel’s next match is against Norway on 11 October in a men’s World Cup qualifier.
Football’s world and European governing bodies were urged this week by United Nations (UN) advisory experts to impose sporting sanctions.
FIFA has not responded to the UN special rapporteurs as Israel’s men continue trying to qualify for next year’s World Cup, which is largely being played in the United States.
And the US government, through Marco Rubio’s state department, has made a direct intervention to stop sporting sanctions being imposed.
A state department spokesperson told Sky News: “We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup.”
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FIFA launched an investigation last year into allegations of discrimination raised by the Palestine Football Association against the Israeli FA.
There is also an investigation into whether teams from Israeli settlements in the West Bank playing in Israeli competitions breaches FIFA regulations.
Image: Pro-Palestinian protesters in Greece ahead of the PAOK and Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League match on Wednesday. Pic: AP
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has a close relationship with US President Donald Trump and is a regular visitor to the White House. He has been in New York this week, meeting world leaders around the UN General Assembly – while also at FIFA’s office in Trump Tower.
During a speech after collecting an Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award last night, Mr Infantino referenced the war while speaking on bringing people together in “a divided world, in an aggressive world”.
In an indirect reference to the challenge of sanctioning countries over wars, Mr Infantino said there are 80 countries where there are conflicts.
He added: “I suffer when I see children suffer. I cry when I see mothers crying, whether it’s in Gaza… anywhere in the world.”
Officials have been deliberating over why Russia remains banned over the war in Ukraine but Israel is clear to continue playing in European club competitions and on the international stage as the death toll mounts.
UEFA has previously publicly said there is a difference in how the wars started – with Russia launching an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and Israel responding to the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks.
“Sports cannot be business as usual and something has to change and Israel has to be excluded,” Alexandra Xanthaki, the UN special rapporteur for cultural rights, told Sky News.
“I think that when we talk about teams, national teams, not individual athletes, of states that are subject to valid claims of genocide… this is where this is for sure a red line.”
Among the athletes killed during the war is the footballer known as the Palestinian Pele – Suleiman al Obeid – who the Palestine FA announced in August died in an Israeli airstrike.
The Palestine Olympic Committee this week said the Israeli sports system has been an “active participant” in war.
“Over 1,000 athletes have had their lives extinguished. Thousands more are wounded, maimed or disabled,” said POC President Jibril Rajoub, who also heads the FA.
“Our stadiums, our facilities, our dreams, all have been ground into dust.”
A suspension of Israeli teams would prevent Aston Villa having to go ahead with their match in the Europa League against Maccabi Tel Aviv in November.
Jessica Chastain has criticised Apple’s decision to delay the release of political thriller series The Savant after the killing of Charlie Kirk.
The actress, who is also executive producer of the show for the tech giant’s TV+ streaming service, said she was “not aligned on the decision to pause the release”.
In a post on Instagram, she said the programme, in which she plays a woman who tries to draw out potential terrorists online, is “so relevant” and she has never “shied away from difficult subjects”.
Chastain portrays a military veteran who works at the Anti-Hate Alliance, where she secretly visits 4Chan-like message boards and poses as a white nationalist to identify possible terrorists.
“‘The Savant’ is about the heroes who work every day to stop violence before it happens, and honouring their courage feels more urgent than ever,” Chastain said.
“I remain hopeful the show will reach audiences soon. Until then, I’m wishing safety and strength for everyone.”
Apple said it chose to postpone the show after “careful consideration” but did not give a reason why.
Kimmel’s comeback show brings in record ratings
Meanwhile, millions of people tuned in to watch Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday after he returned to TV after Disney suspended him for nearly a week after he made comments about Kirk.
Image: Jimmy Kimmel hosting his late night show. Pic: AP
ABC said 6.26 million people watched Kimmel as he said it was “never my intention to make light of” Kirk’s death. It was the late-night show’s highest-rated regularly scheduled episode.
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Kimmel returns – and not everyone’s on same page
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he said as he choked up.
“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make”.
Kimmel had been accused of being “offensive and insensitive” after using his programme, Jimmy Kimmel Live, to accuse Donald Trump and his allies of capitalising on the killing.