Kevin Costner, Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert De Niro gave fans a rare glimpse into their lives in an unorthodox way.
Each celebrity found themselves revealing intimate details they wouldn’t normally share with the public through court testimony. Costner was in a courtroom for his highly publicized divorce while Paltrow rehashed a 2016 ski collision. Meanwhile, fans learned how De Niro treats his employees after he was sued for gender discrimination.
Kevin Costner, Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert De Niro all took the stand in court during 2023. (Backgrid/Getty Images)
Here’s a look at the celebrities who testified in 2023:
GWYNETH PALTROW’S SKI CRASH VICTORY VINDICATES MALIGNED ACTRESS TURNED LIFESTYLE GURU
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow took the stand in March in the highly-publicized ski collision trial in which she was awarded $1 and attorneys’ fees. Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson was determined to be “100% at fault” for the ski crash involving Paltrow in 2016.
While on the stand, Paltrow appeared calm and collected as she testified she originally thought she was being sexually assaulted during the collision.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski accident trial has entered its second week of testimony. (Rick Bowmer-Pool)
“So that was a quick thought that went through my head when I was trying to reconcile what was happening,” Paltrow explained at the time. “Two skis came between my skis forcing my legs apart and then a body pressed against me.
“My brain was trying to make sense of what is happening,” she added. “I thought, ‘Is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?’ My mind was going very, very quickly, and my mind was trying to ascertain what happened.”
Kevin Costner
Christine Baumgartner filed for divorce from Kevin Costner in May after 18 years of marriage. (Getty Images)
Kevin Costner and his ex-wife Christine Baumgartner both took the stand amid their divorce. The couple was married for 18 years before Baumgartner filed for divorce in May.
While on the stand, Costner told the court about his finances and his total expenses for himself and the couple’s three children. The “Hidden Figures” star seemed to be mostly unaware of how much money he makes and spends while on the stand.
“At the point I signed this, I remember thinking the number seemed very large, but I trust them and I signed it,” he told his ex-wife’s lawyer about the income and expenses his attorneys submitted to the court.
The actor’s drama with “Yellowstone” was also thrown into the spotlight as Baumgartner’s lawyer dug into how much Costner brought home from the hit Western show that has run for five seasons. John Rydell asked if Costner was “offered” to “do season six.” According to the actor, it was “complicated.”
Kevin Costner arrives at Santa Barbara courthouse for hearings on child custody. (Backgrid)
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After Costner took the stand, he told Fox News Digital: “You know, when you have a life that long with somebody, there is no winner… and it’s this big, crazy thing called life and how it unravels so quickly. One minute you feel like you’re on top of the world, and then you realize how, you know, how vulnerable you are.”
Costner was certain the former couple would figure it out. “She’s an incredible mom,” he added. “We will figure it out and we’ll share. We just got to kind of convalesce right now.”
After a handful of hearings, largely covered by the media, Costner and Baumgartner chose to settle their divorce privately in September.
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Robert De Niro
In this courtroom sketch, Robert De Niro testifies in Manhattan federal court, Oct. 31, 2023, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Robert De Niro took the stand in November as he faced off against his former assistant, who accused him of gender discrimination and retaliation.
At times during his testimony, De Niro became visibly upset – most notably when Robinson’s lawyer accused him of requesting that his ex-assistant scratch his back.
When Robinson’s lawyers claimed that he asked twice for the assistant to scratch his back, De Niro shot back, “OK. Twice? OK. OK, you got me. I don’t even know what you are talking about. I’m sorry, this is nonsense.”
Actor Robert De Niro arrives at federal court on Oct. 30, 2023, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
De Niro also added, “It never was with any disrespect or lewdness or any kind of weirdness that you are trying to imply… Shame on you, Chase Robinson,” he yelled directly at his ex-employee, who was sitting in the courtroom.
He quickly apologized to the judge.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio testified in the trial involving Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, who was convicted in the case that involved international money laundering and bribery. (AP Images/Getty Images)
Leonardo DiCaprio took the stand in the international money laundering and bribery case involving Jho Low.
Jho Low, also known as Low Taek Jho, was accused of stealing billions of dollars from a Malaysian state investment fund. Meanwhile, Prakazrel “Pras” Michel was accused of funneling money for Jho Low into Barack Obama’s 2012 election campaign. Michel is known as a founder of the 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees.
DiCaprio is not facing any charges related to the crimes.
DiCaprio and Jho Low became friends after meeting at a birthday party in 2010, according to the actor. “I understood him to be a huge businessman with many different connections in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia,” he said.
The “Titanic” actor explained that he had met Michel in the 1990s while backstage at a Fugees concert.
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran was sued for copyright infringement and accused of copying music chords from Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” in his 2014 hit song “Thinking Out Loud.”
Sheeran took the stand during the trial, blasting the lawsuit as “frustrating” and “insulting” because the songwriter “works hard” to write his own music. Sheeran was adamant he had come up with the song himself, sparring at times with the plaintiff’s attorney, Keisha Rice, on the subject of “independent creation.”
Ed Sheeran had been accused of copying chords from “Let’s Get It On” for his song “Thinking Out Loud.” (Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Addressing the accusation that he copied songs, Sheeran said, “I’d be an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that.”
Sheeran also slammed the plaintiff’s music expert during the trial, saying he gave a “horrible depiction” of “Thinking Out Loud.”
“I know he’s wrong because I wrote it myself,” Sheeran said about the song in question.
The jury ruled in favor of Sheeran.
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey was found not guilty of sexual assault after he took the stand in a U.K. court. The actor had pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault, indecent assault and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
Spacey testified over a span of two days, during which he denied violently groping one of his accusers and instead painted a picture of their “intimate” and “somewhat sexual” relationship for the jury. “I never thought that (the man) I knew would… 20 years later stab me in the back,” he said.
Kevin Spacey speaks to the media after being found not guilty of sexual assault in London court. (Getty Images)
Spacey’s description of gentle stroking was in direct contradiction to what the alleged victims testified. They said he caught them by surprise when he aggressively grabbed their privates through their clothing.
Elton John also testified remotely in Spacey’s defense at one point during the trial, confirming the “American Beauty” star only attended one of the musician’s annual gala parties in 2001. One of Spacey’s alleged victims claimed the actor assaulted him while the two were driving to John’s White Tie & Tiara Ball in 2004 or 2005.
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Tracy Wright and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
