When the Stars Come Out: Jodie Foster’s Queer Families and the Celebrity Private Sphere

Abstract

When Jodie Foster came out at the 2013 Golden Globes, her revelation (such as it was) was greeted with empathy, cynicism, and confusion. What was she saying? Did she actually come out if she didn’t say the word “lesbian?” This should prompt the question—What does it mean for a celebrity to come out in the 21 century? Most of them don’t, even as the larger culture has become dramatically more knowledgeable about and supportive of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) people. Does a celebrity coming out still matter? Following the 1997 “Puppy Episode” in which her daughter Ellen announced she was a lesbian, GLBTQ activist Betty DeGeneres told fans that: “Coming out is a gift.” But what kind of a gift? And to whom was it given? Like Ellen, some celebrities have come out not just to relieve anxiety about the dissonance between their private and public lives, but also because they have come to believe that they should use their influence on behalf of social justice. The GLBTQ movement