Donald Trump and Gwyneth Paltrow Battle for Top News Story
The two stories are obviously very different, but the fact that they’re jockeying for top spot feels very classic America.
On Thursday evening, a wealthy blond American business mogul finally got some justice.
No, not Donald Trump.
Trump and Paltrow duked it out in the headlines Thursday, each battling for top spot at major news outlets and on Twitter. Both were trending throughout the United States, although Trump had a slight edge.
A jury decided that Paltrow was not responsible for a 2016 ski accident with a retired Utah optometrist, awarding her $1 and legal fees. Terry Sanderson had originally sought more than $3 million from Paltrow, alleging that she crashed into him, leaving him with four broken ribs, a concussion, and lasting brain damage that affected his daily life, including his ability to taste wine. He later dropped the sum to $300,000 but still lost the case.
The Goop founder has made headlines since the start of the trial last week for her outfits and seemingly unbothered demeanor in court.
Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for his role in hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. The charges are still unknown, but he is the first former U.S. president to be criminally charged.
The two stories are obviously vastly different in terms of national importance, but the fact that they are jockeying for top billing feels pretty classic for America. News consumers love a good spectacle—see the many, many jokes made during Trump’s 2016 run, as people failed to realize he was a serious threat—as well as a chance to poke fun at the uberrich. And both these legal cases are perfect situations for both those things.