Jodie Foster Comes Out (Sort Of) And Retires (We Think)

In a rambling speech at the Golden Globe awards Sunday night, actress Jodie Foster ended decades of speculation by coming out of the closet.

While accepting the Cecil B. Demille award, Foster never actually said the words, “I’m gay.” But in a speech that was at times confusing, she made her sexuality clear:

“I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age, in those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family and co-workers and then gradually, proudly to everyone who knew her, to everyone she actually met. But now I’m told, apparently, that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance and a prime-time reality show. You know, you guys might be surprised, but I am not Honey Boo Boo Child. No, I’m sorry, that’s just not me. It never was and it never will be. Please don’t cry because my reality show would be so boring.”

Full transcript of Foster’s speech via ABC

Michelangelo Signorile, editor-at-large for Huffington Post Gay Voices and host of the Michelangelo Signorile Show on SiriusXM, said that while Foster was nervous and at times incoherent, her speech is a victory for the LGBT community.

In a piece titled “Jodie Foster: What Her Gay Coming Out Means in 2013“, he writes,
“It was another win for busting down the closet among public figures. It was also another example of the new way that celebrities are coming out, embarrassed in 2013 to have ever been in the closet and claiming they’ve always been out, even if in this case that sounds pretty ludicrous.”

Foster also acknowledged her ex-partner, Cydney Bernard, and their children.

“There is no way I could ever stand here without acknowledging one of the deepest loves of my life, my heroic co-parent, my ex-partner in love but righteous soul sister in life, my confessor, ski buddy, consigliere, most beloved BFF of 20 years, Cydney Bernard. Thank you, Cyd. I am so proud of our modern family. Our amazing sons, Charlie and Kit, who are my reason to breathe and to evolve, my blood and soul.”

At the end of her speech, Foster suggested she might be retiring from acting:

“I will continue to tell stories, to move people by being moved, the greatest job in the world. It’s just that from now on, I may be holding a different talking stick. And maybe it won’t be as sparkly, maybe it won’t open on 3,000 screens, maybe it will be so quiet and delicate that only dogs can hear it whistle.”

Those comments have left people wondering if Foster would finally give up acting, as she has threatened to do for years.

Guest:

Michelangelo Signorile, editor-at-large for Huffington Post Gay Voices and host of the Michelangelo Signorile Show on SiriusXM.

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Jane Tellez

As a frequent movie viewer, I found I had no interest in seeeing Anne Heche in a romantic role with a man because I could not get past the knowledge that she was a lesbian. The magic was just not there.
- Maggie
  
  Actually she is bisexual, now married (or last I read) to a man. I think that bisexual actors can still pull any character off… Now if they are gay portraying straight characters then, for me is very hard to believe the character. I say their sexual orientation is nobody’s business but theirs, their families and close friends.
  - kristina_w80
    
    To me it doesn’t matter what gender the actor are actress may or may not be sexually and/or romantically interested in. A good actor or actress should be able to pull off many sorts of characters no matter their sexuality. It’s funny that straight actors that play straight parts they are more often praised than criticized for not playing their own sexuality. Films are supposed to be about the characters, not the lives of the actors that portray them, and current popular culture seems to have forgotten about this. And as for the last comment, I believe that it’s up to the actors themselves, if they do not feel comfortable divulging their sexuality than they should feel no pressure to, but on the other hand if they feel that they need to proclaim that they are gay or bisexual in public to make a statement they should be able to do so