Paltrow Patches It Up with British Men

By Stephen M. Silverman

09/03/2002 at 01:00 PM EDT

Now that Labor Day has come and gone, the silliness of summer has left with it -- as witnessed by some very serious breaking news involving U.S.-European relations at France's Deauville Film Festival.

And the news is ... Gwyneth Paltrow "adores" British men.

The 29-year-old actress, who's in France to promote her new film "Possession," is attempting to set the record straight about a quote recently attributed to her in the British magazine Now, in which she said "British people don't seem to ask each other out on dates." At the time, Paltrow reportedly complained that she had gone on just two dates while starring in the London stage production of "Proof."

The remarks, however, caused an uproar in the British press. London tabloids jumped all over the "Shakespeare in Love" Oscar-winner, mocking Paltrow and suggesting that she must not have been thinking straight.

But now, Paltrow says she was simply misunderstood. According to the Associated Press, the actress told reporters at Deauville that she was merely commenting on a "sociological difference between English dating and American dating."

"I happen to adore British men and I adore Britain," she said.

And should further proof be required, Paltrow, who this fall begins shooting the tragic tale of poet Sylvia Plath, has bought an apartment in London, the AP reports. She also has been spotted singing along to the British band Coldplay, whose singer, Chris Martin, recently dedicated a song to Paltrow during a concert.