Paltrow: "I was misquoted"

Why do good actors have to be so freakin' stupid?

Today's, er, tomorrow's New Zealand Herald is reporting that Gwyneth Paltrow is in damage control mode after her shocking discovery that her anti-American comments weren't well received on this side of the Atlantic.

"I felt so upset to be completely misconstrued and I never, ever would have said that," the Oscar-winner told People.

"I definitely did not say that I think the British are more intelligent and civilised than Americans. I am a New York girl, that's how I always think of myself and see myself."

The mother of two went on to explain: "This is what I said. I said that Europe is a much older culture and there's a difference. I always say in America, people live to work and in Europe, people work to live. There are positives in both.

"Obviously I need to go back to seventh-grade Spanish!"

Every time a celebrity gets caught with foot-in-mouth they've been misquoted, mistranslated, taken out of context or misconstrued. I guess it's tough to be understood without a script girl handing you your lines.