Terry Sanderson is not sure whether he compared Gwyneth Paltrow to King Kong and Godzilla to press.
The retired optometrist, 76, appeared in court on Wednesday as the trial between himself and actress Paltrow, 50, continues.
Sanderson has accused the star of crashing into him in a 2016 ski incident, seeking $300,000 (£243,000) in damages as he alleges it caused him ‘permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement.’
Paltrow has denied all claims, filing a countersuit for $1, arguing that she was actually hit from behind while at the Deer Valley Park, after which she suffered minor injuries.
She took the stand on Friday, day four, and claimed that she was the victim of the incident.
Sanderson has now taken the stand for the second time, and during cross-examination was asked whether he had compared Paltrow to ‘King Kong coming out of the jungle’ during a press conference.
To which he replied: ‘I’m not sure. It sounds familiar.’
He added that he ‘disputes my intentions,’ and ‘meant to say it was like ‘King Kong was chasing her out of the jungle.’
The returned doctor later clarified: ‘My intention was to say it sounded like a lady getting chased by king kong out of the jungle.’
Sanderson was then asked if he had referred to Paltrow as ‘Godzilla’ to his daughter, to which he replied that he could not remember.
He accepted however, that he had ‘told everyone it was a hit and run,’ including using those words while writing in to his local newspaper.
During cross-examination, Sanderson was shown multiple photographs taken from his Facebook page of him on multiple trips abroad and with friends, confirming they were correct apart from a video of him with a kayak, which he said was him simply trying out helmets, not kayaking.
Sanderson also accepted that he had said in his deposition that he had had ‘three near-death experiences’ following the collision, all on which he blames on Paltrow and the incident.
He said he could no longer go on holidays alone, and his daughter joined him on his trips after his girlfriend of five years told him she did not like him anymore as his ‘personality had changed.’
With regards to the incident itself, he said he heard the so-called King Kong scream as he was hit from behind, after he passed signs on the slope telling skiers to slow down.
‘I was sliding down the hill, always on the right side. The silence was broken by a hysterical scream, the very best hysterical scream you ever heard.
‘I heard it and tensed up half a second before I got hit. I’m not sure it even ended when I got hit.’
Paltrow, during her time on the stand, insisted she was ‘not engaging in any risky behavior’ at the time of the incident.
When asked about whether she ‘bolted’ away from the scene, she insisted that she assumed her ski instructor – Eric Christiansen – had given them her information.
During cross-examination, Paltrow added that she felt ‘very sorry’ for Mr Sanderson, concluding: ‘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.’
The trial continues.
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