Gwyneth Paltrow was “cool but sincere” when she told Terry Sanderson, “I wish you well” after a jury rejected his $300,000 offer, body language expert Judi James told MailOnline today.
Jurors found retired optometrist Sanderson, 76, to be “100 percent” responsible for the 2016 crash at the posh Utah ski resort seven years ago. It took just two hours and 20 minutes for the jury to reach a verdict yesterday.
As Mrs. Paltrow left the court, she walked up to him, touched Sanderson’s shoulder and said, “I wish you well.” He replied, “Thank you dear.”
While commentators on social media labeled the gesture “ice cold”, Ms James said she has found several clues to suggest the actress was real.
She told MailOnline: “Paltrow studies Sanderson’s face with her eyes as she bends over him in concern. A sarcastic ritual could have caused an angry look or even caused her to be incongruous, touching his back but looking away at the same time. And her palm is extended in what appears to be a gentle touch.
As Paltrow left court, she touched Sanderson’s shoulder and said, “I wish you well,” he told reporters outside the courthouse. He replied: ‘Thank you dear’
The actress shares a moment with her lawyer after learning she won the case
A beaten Mr. Sanderson looked dejected, shoulders hunched and head bowed
As she walks out, her facial expressions don’t seem to change into a denial ritual that would have been a knowing nod to the audience.
“Sanderson’s bowed head turns to the side, but there’s no visual response to suggest he thinks her comment is staged rather than authentic.”
Ms James said Sanderson’s legal team looked ‘baffled’ by the gesture.
“There doesn’t seem to be any sign of any vigilance or tension to suggest they were concerned that this would have been a humiliation or nasty apart from Paltrow,” he continued.
Then there’s Sanderson’s own retelling of the moment. Speaking to the press outside, he repeats Paltrow’s comment of “#I wish you well#” in a pleasant, calm and friendly voice to suggest that’s how it was delivered.
“I’d say her comment was pretty elegant under the circumstances. If she’d tried to put more warmth or affection into it after all she’d been through, it would have looked like inauthentic overkill, so it was about right thrown in, including the speed of the gesture.
Any implied composure could emanate from the words, which have a slight aftertaste of suggesting a permanent farewell to inform him that she did not expect to see him again, which in turn could hint that this verdict marked the end of their meeting is. It implies ”in the future” and therefore sounds like an emphatic signature.’
Ms. Paltrow, the 50-year-old founder of luxury wellness brand Goop, is worth $200 million (£161 million) and won an Oscar for her role in Shakespeare in Love.
Her opponent, Mr. Sanderson, is a twice-divorced retired Utah optometrist whose net worth is unknown.
Sanderson must hand Ms. Paltrow a token $1 in damages, but must pay his and Gwyneth’s legal fees, which could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The actress left court in Park City after telling her opponent Terry Sanderson: ‘I wish you well’
Gwyneth Paltrow won her case against retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, who claimed she caused a ski collision in 2016 that left him with permanent brain damage
The actress smiled and waved to photographers as she left court
Last night she looked nervous as the verdict was read and sat with her hands together on her desk. When the clerk of the court declared Mr. Sanderson to be the culprit, she nodded appreciatively.
As the judge thanked the jury, she gave them another nod of appreciation.
The decision came after eight days of live-streamed courtroom testimony that drew global audiences and became a pop culture fixation.
The actress smiled and waved to photographers as she left court, but declined to comment.
Paltrow’s lawyer read a statement from the actress outside of court.
Viewers studied the motives of both Paltrow and Sanderson, while lawyers questioned witnesses who often had less to do with the collision and more to do with their client’s reputation.
The trial took place in Park City, a beach town known for the annual Sundance Film Festival, where Paltrow would appear early in her career for the premieres of her films, including 1998’s “Sliding Doors,” at a time when she was primarily known as an actor, not a lifestyle influencer.
Earlier in the trial, Judi James told MailOnline that Paltrow’s note-taking and her decision to adopt a “superiority stance” in which she lifted her chin high and looked down her nose meant that she “often looked like a member of the legal team’. ‘.
Her body language fluctuated between “confidence” and more “vulnerable self-diminishment” – before finally adopting a “Classic A-list” pose in which she came across as confident and composed.
While listening to the courtroom, Paltrow also assumed a “superiority pose where she lifted her chin high, raised her eyebrows and looked down her nose as she pursed her lips,” James said.
“She gently nodded her team’s points to the judge and wrote what appeared to be notes during the trial, often making herself look like a member of the legal team, especially when she was wearing her glasses or looking over her head.”