Jodie Foster’s winding, emotional acceptance speech upon receiving the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes was one of the show’s standout moments. The six-and-a-half-minute oration, in which Foster addressed her sexuality, her privacy, her career and her family, seemed to draw a unanimous reaction at first: one of sheer surprise.

After the initial shock subsided, two big questions hung in the air.
Had Foster come out as gay? And had she announced her retirement?

She was not of the era when gay or lesbian stars held press conferences to discuss their private lives, she said.

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, coworkers and then gradually,
proudly, to everyone who knew her. To everyone she actually met. But
now, apparently I’m told, that every celebrity is expected to honor the
details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance and a
primetime reality show. You guys might be surprised, but I’m not Honey
Boo Boo child.

She went on, “If you had been a public figure since the time you were a toddler, if
you had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against
all odds, then maybe you too would value privacy above all else.”