Wow guys, calm down. Insane reactions? I think that you’re taking it way too far Equipoise. I think that it’s perfectly logical to say “wha…?” if a star insults a large part of their fan base. It seems pretty bold.
Why is it a big difference? Again, if she replaced “Americans” with “Irish” in her quote, would you still be OK with it?
Yes, she’s kidding you. May you never make a general sweeing statement without adding all kinds of disclaimers and conditions.
A few random quotes from an insignificant interview and you’re telling her she should shut up?? This is getting weirder and weirder.
I don’t make bigoted statements, and if I ever do, I hope I’ll quickly apologize for them.
If someone says something stupid I’ll call them on it. What’s wrong with that?
general sweeping statement
And yes, insane. Talk of boycottish behavior and intimating that she should keep her mouth shut is insane, much worse than the fit of pique “I didn’t like her anyway, she’s a poopyhead who gave her daughter a silly name” crap.
I think part of the problem is that some of us don’t think any particular people are more ‘intelligent’ than any other. People are people and they are just as smart (and, coincidentally, stupid) everywhere.
Hasn’t this been a liberal centerpiece for the last fifty years or so – that no one group or race of people is superior or inferior to any other? I believe this to be so as well, so it smacks of an unjustified elitism (and idiocy, to some of us) when some Hollywood dingbat starts denigrating the American people and American culture in favor of some other allegedly superior (and almost invariably European) people and culture. It’s all part and parcel of the ‘America sucks’ meme which has emanated from Hollywood for the last several decades.
One could just as easily contend (based on cultural sophistication, which is all this is really about) that the French are superior to the English.)
It’s really just a matter of taste and opinion. One person’s reserved, intelligent Englishman is another’s repressed stuffed shirt. The English as a whole are no more intelligent as human beings than Germans, Italians or Figi Islanders.
So it’s annoying on two levels when someone like her spouts such nonsense: First, it simply isn’t so; and secondly, it smacks of unwarranted elitism and an attempt to appear superior to her countrymen…you know, sort of like the Dixie Chicks. 
Yes, I try not to make general sweeping statements about ethnic (cultural, whatever) groups of people.
I’m saying she said something stupid, that’s all. If someone is pissed off because she insulted their country, why are they obligated to support her financially?
Of course, since she’s done so much with Hollywood, her perceptions are basically of THAT really narrow part of the USA rather than anything else.
You’ve missed the point. It’s not that we shouldn’t care. It’s that we shouldn’t look to them for expert opinions. This is a perfect example of the value of hers.
But you have NO idea what all she actually said. You have a few quotes put up in a throwaway gossip column by a writer biased enough to call her “pompous.”
Don’t support her financially, I could give a rat’s ass.
Was she misquoted?
OK.
How in the world would I know if she was misquoted? Neither of us knows because we’re seeing a third-hand source.
I doubt the Boston Herald would run a direct quote without checking it. I could be wrong of course. If she was misquoted I’ll take back what I said about her.
People say stupid things all the time. This was pretty small beer compared to Mel and Michael, but it still–assuming accuracy–makes her look like a fatuous ninny. Honestly I don’t give a rat’s ass either, and I’m not going to boycott any movie over this, but I really don’t see what’s wrong on calling some celebrity on some stupid thing they said.
I didn’t say I was okay with it or not okay with it, I’m just saying there’s a difference between criticizing ethnic groups and criticizing cultures. If Paltrow said “I only hang out with people of Anglo-Saxon ethnic stock; keep me away from those mongrel, half-breed Americans and the non-Anglo-Saxon Brits,” that would be saying that one ethnic group is superior to others. But she’s not saying that: she’s saying “This culture, in my opinion, is better than that one.” Quite different: cultures, IMHO, are more open to comparison and criticism than are ethnicities, because cultures have values and ideals and priorities and traditions that are open for debate, while ethnicities are just…genetics. Saying, for example, “I don’t like inner-city barrio culture because of X, Y, Z” is not the same as saying “I don’t like Latino people, no matter who they are or how they act.”
Now, whether or not these particular cultural comments she made were accurate, fair, or, simply, polite is another matter. In my opinion, she could have been more polite, and I would have substituted “educated” for “intelligent” and left out the uncivilized bit because it’s a word that gets people’s blood boiling. But, having lived in both the UK and the US, I think she has some accurate points about the difference between the two countries.
Assuming accuracy, her quotes seem reasonable and interesting to me. Especially this one:
Unlike some, I don’t take her to mean that EVERY dinner at EVERY English household is ALWAYS full of interesting talk, nor that EVERY dinner at EVERY American household is ALWAYS full of talk about work and money. The “often” or even “in general” is implied and I accept her quote as a general observation.
and
It’s precisely this kind of ‘love every one of us madly or go straight to hell and be tortured forever’ attitude that leaves a VERY bad taste in non-Americans’ mouths.
Worse, it’s the same nation where a restaurant at the LEGISLATURE actually renamed ‘French fries’ in a hissy fit because France didn’t trail along into a disastrous war. It’s so juvenile. It’s so uncalled-for. It’s so unsophisticated.
If you truly wish to be liked and admired, you have to lose that attitude (those of you to whom that applies, anyway).
Do you know how totalitarian regimes come to power and hold power? By condemning all ‘outsiders’. Do you know how the Talibans get control of a nation? By persuading the citizens that all who don’t agree with them are evil and to be hated. Only nations which allow dissent, dislike, and negative opinions can truly be called democracies. So beware lest ye become the very thing you loathe. (Again, clearly this doesn’t apply to all Americans but if the shoe fits…)
Sorry, next time someone tells me that I’m uncivilized I’ll be sure to patronize their art. Come on, are you serious? You’re likening this to putting the Taliban in power? The TALIBAN? I’m clearly not the one who is insane. Disagreeing with the prestigious Paltrow doesn’t mean that I think America is the greatest, rah rah, let me get out my Toby Keith and put a boot in someone’s ass. Her remarks (which according to Equipoise were probably taken out of context, seeing how she’s taken the time to “learn” about her and how she “doesn’t have an ego”) were silly to make.
She doesn’t have to love America, but to make these generalizing remarks deeming an entire nation less intelligent and civilized leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But apparently I’m the one who’s supposed to shut up… and I’m not even telling her to shut up! I am saying I don’t agree.
It’s only Monday morning, but I’m will to submit this as a contender for the funniest thing of the week.
Here’s what we have:
Emphasis mine: if they can’t check their own spelling, how much effort do you think they put into checking their quotes?
Anyway, a gossip columnist with multiple axes to grind, writing for a tabloid known for regularly banging the “Hollywood liberals hate America!” drum, is referring to a press report referring to an interview in a foreign language gossip magazine, while also getting in her own dig at British culture (“despite the horrors of British cooking”). I’ll consider forming an opinion of Ms. Paltrow’s quote when I see footage of her actually saying it.
Doing a bit of googling, I’m not even finding any reference to NS magazine. Anyone know if this is a real publication?
I have never been able to stand Paltrow-she’s always come off as incredibly stuck up and pretentious.
She’s also got Cate Blanchette’s Oscar sitting on her shelf.
I don’t see the big deal about saying she’s happier and likes the lifestyle better in one place over another. What’s the big deal? I don’t see why people are so offended. People move all the time.
She’s certainly not the first American that moved out of the country. Is the problem that she actually said what she thinks? Johnny Depp said he likes living in France better. Tina Turner & Shania Twain both moved to Switzerland obviously because they like living there better. What’s the big deal?
Are people equally offended when a celebrity from the UK moves here because they say they like the lifestyle better?
I think it’s refreshing for a celebrity not to spout what their publicist tells them to say and actually says what they think.
I think someone really should have a wax statue of her making love to Harriet Tubman commissioned, just to teach her a lesson.
[/Family Guy reference that just aired on TV]