Eric Cristiansen has taken the stand during the 'Shallow Hal' actress' ski crash trial in Utah, shooting down a claim that she was distracted by her son Moses before the accident on the slopes.
- Mar 29, 2023
AceShowbiz - Gwyneth Paltrow's skiing instructor dismisses a claim her son Moses distracted her seconds before her 2016 crash on the slopes. The 50-year-old Goop founder's teacher Eric Cristiansen testified on Monday, March 27 at Park City Court, Utah, and insisted she was not responsible for a collision at Deer Park Resort in the state that retired optometrist Dr. Terry Sanderson, 76, says left him with permanent brain damage.
"I never saw that happen," Eric said as he spoke about a claim mum-of-two Gwyneth - whose children Apple and Moses were 11 and 9 respectively at the time of the ski accident - had been distracted on the slopes by her youngest yelling, "Mommy, Mommy watch me ski," before the crash.
The instructor, who said he was at the scene of the crash within 10-15 seconds, also branded claims he had falsified his report on the crash as Oscar-winner Gwyneth was tipping him "ridiculous." Eric additionally denied the "Sliding Doors" actress had been "reckless and dangerous" on the day of the crash, saying, "Not at all."
He said about how she had been left raging by the crash, "When you're skiing, you don't expect to be taken out - it's very fast. Gwyneth was upset. As I came across, she was speaking to Mr Sanderson. One of the first things I did was ask if everyone was OK. She was speaking quite sharply but I don't know she yelled."
Eric also insisted the accident left "no one" unconscious and that former army optometrist Dr. Sanderson said "she just appeared in front of me" after the crash. The former medic has testified Gwyneth let out a "bloodcurdling" scream before she "lost control" and hurtled into him.
Gwyneth admitted on the stand she yelled at Dr. Sanderson after they collided, "You skied directly into my f****** back!"
She also said she heard the doctor making a "groaning noise" as they crashed into one another that left her thinking she was being assaulted by a "perverted" skier. She added, "He was making some strange noises that sounded male and he was large so I assumed he was a male."
"I was confused at first because it's a very strange thing to happen on a ski slope. I got very upset a few seconds later. There was a body pressing against me and he was making a groaning noise. I didn't know, is this a practical joke or is someone doing something perverted?"
Gwyneth is countersuing Dr Sanderson, who wants $300,000 in compensation for his apparent brain damage after the collision, and says she wants "symbolic damages" of $1 plus her legal fees covered.
