Jodie Foster ‘comes out’ in baffling Golden Globes speech
The most talked about moment of the 2013 Golden Globes will be undoubtedly be Jodie Foster’s bizarre acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award, in which she almost came out, savaged celebrity culture and hinted at retirement.
Watch a snippet below.
The star has faced rumours for years about her sexuality, and used the 2013 Golden Globes to address her sexuality. Accepting the award, the veteran star told a stunned crowd:
"I'm just going to put it out there, loud and proud ... I am, uh, single," pausing for dramatic effect as the crowd laughed slightly nervously, before adding. "I hope you're not disappointed that there won't be a big coming-out speech tonight. I already did my coming-out about a thousand years ago in those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends, and family, coworkers and then gradually, proudly, to everyone who knew her. To everyone she actually met."
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For years it’s been known in Hollywood that the ‘Silence of the Lambs’ star Foster is gay, but she has been extremely reluctant to discuss her private life, and ex-partner Cydney Bernard, with the media.
She referenced this next, delivering a critique on the public’s obsession with stars’ private lives.
"But now, apparently I'm told, that every celebrity is expected to honour the details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance and a primetime reality show. You guys might be surprised, but I am not ‘Honey Boo Boo child. Please don't cry, because my reality show is so boring."
"If you had been a public figure by the time you were a toddler, if you had had to fight for a life that felt real, and honest, and normal against all odds, then you too might value privacy above all else," she said.
"Privacy. Some day in the future people will look back and remember how beautiful it once was."
This part of the speech lead many to speculate she had just announced her retirement, though actress Amy Kaufman later tweeted: “Backstage, Jodie says she's NOT retiring. "Oh, no, I could never stop acting. You'd have to drag me behind a team of horses."#GoldenGlobes”
Indeed the whole speech caught the imagination of social media users, with the actresses’ name trending worldwide on Twitter all night.
Ricky Martin, who publicly admitted he was gay in 2010, tweeted: "Jody Foster On your terms. Its your time! Not before nor after. Its when it feels right."
The best reaction to Foster’s speech came from on stage though, from co-host Amy Poehler. She told the crowd: "Goodnight! We're going home with Jodie Foster!".