Man who sued Gwyneth Paltrow regrets it: I’m gonna be on the Internet forever

Terry Sanderson is the guy who tried to sue Gwyneth Paltrow. He accused her of crashing into him on the ski slopes but lost, because she was beneath him and he was the uphill skier – physics are fun! As a result of tying up the court’s time, Sanderson will have to pay Gwyneth $1 in damages and her attorneys’ fees. And if we know anything about Goop, she is not going to have cheap attorneys. After the trial, which was televised, Sanderson was asked if all the hoopla was worth it in the end. Uhm, no – did you not hear the part where the skiing EYE DOCTOR couldn’t see where he was going? But Sanderson’s reason for regret was longer lasting, as in: the internet. He knows he’ll be meme’d until his twilight years.

Things didn’t go as planned for Terry Sanderson, who sued Gwyneth Paltrow for a 2016 Utah ski crash at Deer Valley Resort.

After a jury on Thursday found that the Oscar-winning actor was not liable for the crash and that, as a result, Sanderson would have to pay her $1 and her legal expenses, he expressed regret outside the courthouse.

When a reporter asked the 76-year-old retired optometrist if the live-televised trial, which included testimony from his daughters and ex-girlfriend, was worth it, he replied, “Absolutely not.”

“Knowing that now, no,” Terry said in a video shared by Extra. “I joked about dating sites, right? It’s like, I’m gonna be on the internet forever.”

[From Buzzfeed]

It takes a lot of privilege to present as more out of touch that Gwyneth Paltrow, dude. And yet, you’ve topped yourself. You skied into a person, that people witnessed, hoped she’d just give you money to silence you, pursued a frivolous lawsuit when she didn’t, and your regret is the internet will make fun of you? I mean, he’s right – over 30 million people watched this trial and I’m sure plenty of his rich man-isms will find their way into our vernacular. I’m a Goop apologist because I enjoy most people who live so proudly at that level of ridiculous, but this whole thing was a sham to begin with. She was right to see it through and make an example of Sanderson. After everything came out, what he was doing was extortion. He brought this on himself. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. And if anyone knows anything about the internet having a laugh at your expense, it’s Goop. That’s probably why she only asked for $1. She knew what his true punishment would be. That’s what she meant by, “I wish you well.” She might as well kissed his cheek and said “I know it was you, Fredo.”

And the sad part is, we wanted this trial right now. As ridiculous as it was, it proved a welcome distraction. From losing a half-day skiing to compromised wine-tastings, it was the release the nation needed. Sanderson could have been our Anti-Hero with his own Taylor Swift soundtrack if he’d played along even the slightest bit.

Photo credit: Backgrid

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45 Responses to “Man who sued Gwyneth Paltrow regrets it: I’m gonna be on the Internet forever”

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  1. Slush says:

    I mean yes he’s is technically going to be on the internet forever, but I think this will be forgotten about a year from now.

  2. Alexandria says:

    I’ll give him this, at least he is self aware enough and admitted regret. Can’t say the same for some rats on salty island.

    • The Hench says:

      Yeah…self aware enough NOW. Not self aware enough when he tried – already obviously knowing that he was the one at fault – to sue the ski resort and the children’s ski instructor to start with as well as Gwynnie at $3mill. Not self aware enough even when the latter case got tossed and reduced to just $300k, which his legal fees never mind hers after 7 years and a court case will dwarf.

      I mean – yeah, there is some serious delusion happening on Salty Island as well but I don’t think this idiot gets credited for ANY self awareness. The man is a grifting moron.

  3. N2NY says:

    From what I saw, the jury likely HATED his lawyer, who was a fool and played to the cameras. She lost the case for him.

    • Ameerah M says:

      He was going the lose regardless because he didn’t have a case.

    • AmyB says:

      I watched very little of the trial – his lawyer was the woman who was fangirling Paltrow correct? That was truly bizarre LOL

      “I know it was you, Fredo” is a perfect analogy!

      • C says:

        It was super bizarre, it was clear she was a fangirl and had been waiting for years to talk to her or something, lol.

      • sparrow says:

        Everyone keeps on about how ridiculous TS’ lawyer was. But I felt she was trying to pull off what she thought was a very clever trick: appearing to be an unworldly “country lawyer”, overwhelmed by urbane celebrity, in an attempt to disarm Paltrow and cause her to misstep. It was an act – a faux stupidity that turned into real stupidity when it failed. Underneath she was nothing of the sort. She tried to shame GP into appearing diva-ish when GP said her first reaction to TS crashing into her back and ending up with his skis between her legs felt like a sexual assault. Most if not all women would feel incredibly weird during the first stages of such an incident. I hate it when women try to make other women feel stupid and outlandish for reactions they know all to well themselves. Men do a good enough job of this already. His lawyer was far from dumb, just not far enough away to realise her approach was transparent and her failure was glaring.

  4. Prairiegirl says:

    Play stupid games, win stupid prizes my man.

    • sunny says:

      All of this! @Hecate, the Fredo comparison is perfect!

    • Whyfortheloveo says:

      Yes yes and yes! The Courts are drowning in nonsense cases like this. They use up so many resources and most people don’t have the resources to fight them like Goop or Duchess Meghan (with her evil sisters’ insanity). Good for Goop (never thought I’d say that). Here’s your stupid sign Sir. You earned it

  5. Digital Unicorn says:

    Not to mention the hefty legal bill that he’s about to get hit with – I imagine that she wants him to pay her fees as well. His case was always weak and he clearly was hoping for a payout from the wealthy celebrity who’d give him money to go away but he picked the wrong person for that.

    The court case was basically about who was going to out entitle the other and no one out entitles Goopy.

  6. Dandun says:

    i was shocked at the amount of people here and elsewhere who thought that she should have settled just to make this go away. that type of behaviour just encourages people to sue celebrities for the money. hopefully high profile cases like this will make people think twice.

    • Lux says:

      Exactly. Lots of people on this site made the same comment, like it’s just a drop in the bucket for her, why not settle?

      That’s when I knew GP would win, because if she was in any way at fault, she WOULD settle. She might be out-of-touch, but she is principled and self-righteous, and in this case, rightfully so.

    • Fabiola says:

      Me too. When I read the comments that she’s rich why doesn’t she just pay him made me think why should she? I’m glad she won and I hope this teaches other scammers with their frivolous lawsuits a lesson.

    • Christine says:

      It did seem to be the exact opposite of the prevailing Prince Harry wisdom, which is to sue them into oblivion, and then sue them some more, just to really make the point, because you have the resources to do so . It’s exactly what Gwyneth did here.

  7. Maeve says:

    Imagine your claim to fame being “the man who achieved what was thought impossible – he made the internet #TeamGwyneth”

    • Christine says:

      This is exactly my reaction. I watched no part of this trial, and even I know this douche made Gwyneth look good.

  8. Mtl.Ex.pat says:

    Wonder in hind sight if a tiny part of this is to stave off people from trying to sue because of damage from her Goop snake oil?

    • Isabella says:

      The ski accident happened years ago and has only now come to trial. She couldn’t have timed this.

  9. Dutch says:

    Slight correction. He was the uphill skier. And I hope the judge put him on the hook for every billable hour and Starbucks run Goop’s legal time did

  10. Sass says:

    Dude I promise you if you stfu you’ll be forgotten. In fact I had already forgotten until I saw this post.

  11. Eleonor says:

    “Stupid is who Stupid does”.

  12. Lady Rae says:

    There was the point that he broke 4 ribs and been hit from the back that was never explained if he wasn’t hit but there is always risk in skiing so not sure if it was worth suing. I don’t think he did himself any favours when taking the stand and his lawyer didn’t help him either

    • Isabella says:

      He wasn’t hit from behind. He was the uphill skier. He hit Paltrow from behind. He got injured because he fell on his elbows and broke a few ribs. I’m embarrassed that I know this but the trail footage was mesmerizing. He was in bad health before the accident and, because he’s blind in one eye, was a danger to others.

      • TeamMeg says:

        What trail footage? It was an animation created by Goop’s team. Both parties stuck to their stories, and there were no eyewitnesses to the actual crash (unless I missed something) to convincingly confirm who was the uphill skiier. That said, I believe Gwyneth. Plus: Her court dressing was total goals. So jelly.

  13. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    If the trial wasn’t enough to get you to shut your mouth, maybe the thought of everyone continuing to make fun of you will be enough incentive to finally shut your mouth.

  14. Lizzie says:

    All of the lawyers leaving after the verdict gave a prepared statement and walked away as quick as possible, but this guy just loved the attention he got from the press surrounding him. A lot like a certain orange chap in the news.

  15. jferber says:

    If he’s afraid of that, why threaten to appeal? In any case, this is a minor blip. I hope he heals and leads his best life.

  16. sparrow says:

    The man was deluded. He seriously thought Paltrow would pay. All those expensive holidays and activities after the incident were paid for against a future lump sum he believed was coming his way.

  17. AngryJayne says:

    This post is *chefs kiss* perfection lol

  18. jferber says:

    On second glance, he is a nice-looking man. I bet he can get a walk-on or a minor talk show host to interview him–if he wants to keep the party going.

  19. Bingo says:

    I just want to know if the Judge will hit him with her legal fees and what the total was. I’m sticking around for that. Then I want it to all go away.