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Before you pull a Nicole Richie and start flipping off Gwyneth Paltrow, consider how her recent remarks about America may have been misconstrued.

After all, they were spoken in broken Spanish.

The actress told People magazine she is “deeply upset” over stories claiming she insulted her native country in any way.

Gwyneth Paltrow Smiles
(AFP/Getty Images)

“First of all I feel so lucky to be American. When you look at the rest of the world, we’re so lucky, and that’s something my dad always instilled in me,” Paltrow said. “I feel so proud to be American.”

The patriotic problems began after the friend of Jay-Z was quoted as telling the Portuguese newspaper Diario De Noticias:

“The British are much more intelligent and civilized than the Americans.”

“I felt so upset to be completely misconstrued and I never, ever would have said that,” said the 34-year-old Academy Award winner. “I definitely did not say that I think the British are more intelligent and civilized than Americans. I am a New York girl, that’s how I always think of myself and see myself.”

Paltrow lives part-time in London with her British husband, Coldplay singer Chris Martin, and their two children, Apple, 2, and Moses, 7 months. The quote confusion can be attributed to her less-than-fluent grasp of a language, something Jessica Simpson can relate to.

“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.”

Meanwhile, if you wish to see how The Hollywood Gossip looks in broken Spanish, click here.

At least we’re trying, right?