There has been a bit of controversy surrounding Jodie Foster's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes last month, and we find it a curious.
By now, it's no surprise to anyone that Foster lives openly—if privately—as a lesbian, having had a partnership with Cydney Bernard beginning in 1993 (which ended in 2007). The process of coming out, as Foster hinted at during her acceptance speech, was one that didn't require extensive fanfare on her part. "I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the stone age, those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family and co-workers, and then gradually and proudly to everyone who knew her, to everyone she actually met," she said during her acceptance speech.
Today, as People pays millions of dollars to obtain the exclusive cover story of a celebrity's very own Emancipation Proclamation, accompanied by Diana Ross’ “I'm Coming Out” blaring over the loudspeakers, Foster's reticence against this sort of brouhaha is refreshing. We appreciate the fact that there was a time B.E.—Before Ellen—where a celebrity's sexual orientation could destroy a career and reputation, and we also know that the freedom to come out is not to be taken for granted. Foster's refusal to muck about in gossip and speculation makes sense. (Come on, no one would have preferred seeing the two-time Oscar-winner star in a Real Lesbian Housewives of Hollywood series.)
Foster can make a big deal about it, if she wants to, but she chooses to make it all about her art. That’s her right. "If you'd had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, then maybe you too might value privacy above all else," she said. "I have given everything up there from the time that I was three years old. That's reality-show enough, don't you think?"
Maybe there are a few LGBT activists and bloggers who wish Foster would do more for our movement. But as her wacky Globes speech showed, she’s just not interested.
What Do You Think?