Jodie Foster Comes Out In Speech At Golden Globes

Jodie Foster, 50, took to the stage at the Golden Globes on Sunday night to receive her Cecil B. Demille Award for a lifetime of achievement – and acknowledge what had been an open secret for years — that she is a lesbian.

After receiving the award from Robert Downey Jr., Foster playfully shouted “I’m 50! I’m 50!” — a play on a Saturday Night Live skit. Then, she made her first confession:

"I'm here being all confessional, and I just have a sudden urge to say something that I've never really been able to air in public, a declaration that I'm a little nervous about, maybe not as nervous as my publicist right now," Foster said. "But I'm just going to put it out there, loud and proud, right? So I'm going to need your support on this. I am… single."

Her second confession was a bit more of a revelation. "There won't be a big coming-out speech tonight, because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago in the Stone Age,” said Foster. She went on to clarify that her sexuality was something that she had revealed to people who she knew and knew her; from family to friends and coworkers. While there’s been ample speculation about Foster’s personal life over the years, the actress had never addressed the rumors publicly until now.

Foster displayed her distaste for the lack of privacy for celebrities, and likewise defended her choice over the years to keep quiet about her personal life. "If you had been a public figure from the time you were a toddler, if you'd had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, than maybe you too might value privacy above all else…. I have given everything up there from the time that I was three-years old,” said Foster. “That's reality show enough, don't you think?"

The lifetime achievement award winner closed her speech by thanking her sons and her ex-partner with whom she amicably raises them, Cydney Bernard. The end of Foster’s speech, however, brought about just as many questions as it did answers. Twitter immediately broke out in speculation that the out actress had just announced her retirement. Los Angeles Time’s Amy Kaufmann was behind the scenes with Foster and was able to offer some clarification. “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,’” she tweeted.

Check out the video of Foster’s speech below (Skip to the 6-minute mark to get to her speech.)