The lawyer questioning Gwyneth Paltrow in court over a ski collision has gone viral, with her conduct being described by one legal expert as "truly bad."
Paltrow is currently appearing in court in Park City, Utah, after she was sued for allegedly causing a ski collision that left a retired optometrist with severe injuries. Terry Sanderson, 76, claims Paltrow skied into the back of him on the Deer Valley Resort on February 26, 2016, leaving him with multiple injuries. Paltrow claims it was actually Sanderson that skied into the back of her, and she's counter-suing for $1 plus her legal fees.
The trial has been running for a number of days at the Third Judicial District Court in Park City, and will continue this week.
Paltrow took the stand for the first time on March 24, when she was called as a witness by Sanderson's legal team. Her time in the witness box went viral online, but not for the reasons you'd expect.
Sanderson's attorney Kristin VanOrman asked the Oscar winner a series of questions, a compilation of which has now been viewed over 4.4 million times on Twitter alone.
VanOrman asked Paltrow questions including "may I ask how tall you are?" and "Now I'm assuming, and you're under oath here, that you're a good tipper?"
The back and forth between the two women went viral online as they exchanged compliments and jokes. Some people have criticized VanOrman for her approach, while others have pointed out that she's attempting to disarm Paltrow. Others have been less impressed.
"Oh man the lawyer this dude hired to sue Gwyneth Paltrow is truly, truly bad," wrote British barrister Rupert Myers on Twitter on Monday, sharing a video put together by The Washington Post.
Myers was asked by a follower if VanOrman's questions were a strategy to disarm Paltrow. "Not a good one," he replied.
Journalist and presenter Sangita Myska wrote: "I can't decided if the lawyer star-struck or trying to lower Paltrow's defenses by being a bit.. err.. hokey?" Considering this, Myers replied: "I think she's just bad."
VanOrman's performance has been widely commented on across social media.
British television personality Lorraine Kelly couldn't believe what she was watching was real. "Is it an early April Fool? coz this is some super parody shenanigans," Kelly wrote on Twitter on Monday morning.
Holy smokes... this woman is shocking, "actress and newsreader Zora Suleman wrote on Monday. "Truly awful (in this example). I'm surprised she hasn't asked for an autograph or a selfie yet."
The trial began on March 21 and is expected to last eight business days in total, which means it will continue this week and could end by March 30.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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