Gwyneth Paltrow arrived in court yesterday for her trial over a 2016 skiing accident looking like she had “given status and confidence,” said body language expert Judi James.
Paltrow, 50, appeared in court Wednesday for the second day of her trial, where she is charged with crashing into 76-year-old Terry Sanderson on Feb. 26, 2016, during the novice run at Utah’s exclusive Deer Valley resort.
The Oscar-winning actress nodded softly and wrote what appeared to be notes as she watched her lawyers defend her, arguing that Paltrow had not punched Sanderson and that she was the victim of the crash instead.
Body language expert Judi James told MailOnline that Paltrow’s note-taking and her decision to adopt a “superiority pose,” where she lifted her chin high and her nose down, meant she “often looked like a member of the legal team’.
Throughout the day, her body language fluctuated between “confidence” and more “vulnerable self-diminishment” – before finally adopting a “Classic A-list” attitude in which she came across as confident and composed.
Here, Judi James analyzes Paltrow’s body language on the second day of her trial for MailOnline.
Paltrow, 50, appeared in court on Wednesday for the second day of her trial (pictured)
Terry Sanderson, 76, (pictured in court Tuesday) sued the Oscar-winning actress in January 2019, claiming she crashed into the back of him and the site of the novice run at Utah’s exclusive Deer Valley resort on Feb. 26 2016 left.
Body language expert Judi James (pictured) told MailOnline that Paltrow’s note-taking and her decision to adopt a “superiority stance,” where she lifted her chin high and looked down her nose, meant she “often looked like herself a member of the legal team’. ‘
Superiority attitude and self-confidence glow
When Paltrow entered the courtroom yesterday to confront Sanderson, who is suing the actress for $300,000 over the 2016 skiing accident, she looked like she’d had a “confidence glow.”
Paltrow wore a cream cardigan and held a pen in her hand. She spoke intently to a man as she walked into the courtroom and went to her seat.
“In her cream, business chic cardigan and clutching her pen, Paltrow arrived in court on day two looking like she’d gained status and confidence,” James said.
The body language expert added: ‘Her body language looked cheerful and she made her entrance midway through the conversation, walking in front of a man with her neck twisted back to make sure she could continue the conversation.
“Apparently absorbed in this conversation, it was Paltrow who used the hand gesture, including her pen, to suggest that she was the one making confident points.”
While listening to the courtroom, Paltrow also assumed a “superiority pose where she lifts her chin high, raises her eyebrows and looks down her nose as she purses her lips,” James said.
Paltrow then walked across the courtroom, her large bag slung over her arm, and headed for her seat
James continued, “She barely even glanced into the courtroom when she arrived, which is a rare and rather counterintuitive gesture as people usually need an eye scan to inspect new territory or new people when they arrive in a room or group So the hint was again that Paltrow was in a confident mood.’
Paltrow then walked across the courtroom, her large bag slung over her arm, and headed for her seat.
“There was a faint asymmetrical smile and then what was becoming a signature sucking of the lower lip as she sat down, a hint that she was bracing for the day,” James said.
While listening to the courtroom, Paltrow also assumed a “superiority pose where she raises her chin high, raises her eyebrows and looks down her nose as she purses 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.”
Classic A List
After the intermission, Paltrow confidently walked into the courtroom and took on a “more classic A-List attitude,” James said.
Paltrow’s head was held high as she entered with a bottle of green juice in one arm and surrounded by her legal team.
“Paltrow arrived after intermission in a more classic A-list pose, cradling a large green bottle in one arm and walking amidst her legal team,” James said.
“When she sat down, she wiped her nose with her fingers and then with the back of her hand, as if mentally preparing for the next session,” James said.
Pictured: Gwyneth Paltrow in a social media post the year before the accident at the Deer Valley resort in Utah. She captioned the post: ’20 years later and I still have it #justlikeridingabike’
Confidence is gone
During day two of her trial, Paltrow, who claims it was Sanderson who bumped into her rather than the other way around, seemed confident on points.
She played with her hair and at one point raised her arms as if to make a ponytail. This allowed Paltrow to lift her elbows and expose her armpits.
While playing with the hair can be a sign of vulnerability, showing her armpits can be a sign of “spread and confidence,” according to James.
She said, “Fiddling her hair can be another ritual to comfort yourself, but here it also allowed the elbows to go up and the armpits to be bared.”
“Pit-baring can be a gesture of spreading and confidence — like when someone at work sits with their hands behind their head and elbows spread when talking to you in a meeting — and to sit facing forward with this gesture just suggested That.’
During day two of her trial, Paltrow, who claims it was Sanderson who bumped into her rather than the other way around, seemed confident on points
The trial over the Deer Valley Resort incident (pictured) began yesterday in Park City District Court
At the end of the session, Paltrow appeared ready to go home and there was no apparent desire to cover her face with her folder – as she had done on the first day of the trial.
“Again, Paltrow looked like she planned to be like the one who can’t wait to be first out of class when the bell rings,” James said.
She even seemed to pause twice on her way out to check. However, there was no apparent desire to hide her face or hide behind her folder on day two. With a polite smile she held that folder here beside her.’
Vulnerable self-diminishment
While Paltrow showed confidence at points on the second day of the trial, there were points where she appeared nervous and vulnerable.
“Her body language fluctuated between confident spreading and more vulnerable self-diminishing,” James said.
“Like the first day, there were other self-prep rituals, including a little swipe of her upper lip.”
James added that Paltrow blinked rapidly at certain points, suggesting she was nervous.
“There was a quick blink that might suggest inner tension or anxiety beneath the often poised-looking exterior, plus some squirming in her chair to indicate discomfort caused by the placement of the cameras her team was raising,” James said. .
While Paltrow showed confidence at points on the second day of the trial, there were points where she appeared nervous and vulnerable
During the hearing, Paltrow listened to evidence and rested her chin on her hand before sucking in her lips.
Paltrow assumed a listening pose that suggested some distance as she leaned away with her right hand on the desk and her left supporting her chin and face,” James said.
“There was a moment of what seemed like evaluation as her fingers were placed down the side of her face and she sucked in her lips.”
James added, “At times she was bent over in her chair reading from papers in front of her on the desk, or leaning back with her arms folded over her waist in a self-hugging ritual.”
Paltrow also played with her hair by smoothing it out and pulling it out of her face.
“She spent time performing emphatic hand rituals with her hair, pulling it back with both hands and smoothing it.”