Did She or Didn't She?

Despite
increasing acceptance of LGBT people in general society and
a growing number of entertainment personalities who
are living out lives, speculation over an A-lister
like Foster is invariably news, Thompson said.

“There is
still almost this parlor game trying to identify the
sexuality of celebrities and people we know that
doesn’t seem to have stopped,” he
explained.

It’s
usually predicated by a long season of speculation,”
Thompson said, “Rosie and Ellen being prime
examples.”

That long season
may have begun months ago. During an interview for the
August 2007 edition of More magazine, a
reporter broached the subject of the ring Foster wears on
her left-hand ring finger. When asked if she thought
“wearing a ring raises questions,”
Foster said, “I don't have any problems with anybody
reporting on my life. It's just that I'm not going to
bring my family into that.”

On the other
hand, Foster extended a hand to the LGBT family just two
days before her Women in Film acceptance speech. On December
2, the star appeared onstage at the annual Cracked
Xmas benefit for the Trevor Project, which funds a
round-the-clock suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ
youth. Foster was there to give an award to the Foundation's
founders, James Lecesne, Peggy Rajski, and the late Randy
Stone, an out gay Hollywood executive with whom Foster
shared a long, close friendship.

Although she had
contributed financially to the Trevor Project and had
helped to finance Trevor, the Academy Award-winning
short about a gay teen who outgrows the idea of
suicide, Foster had stayed behind the scenes until
this year. The sustained standing ovation she received
onstage appeared momentarily to startle the actress, who
said she'd count the applause as a tribute to Stone.

But did that warm
response prompt Foster's December 4 acknowledgment of
her partner? Only Foster knows. The Trevor appearance and
the Sherry Lansing Award speech could be subtle
gestures, or simply random moments linked by
coincidence. Regardless, the reporting continues.
On December 14 gossip web site TMZ.com ran video footage of
Foster and Bernard leaving West Hollywood restaurant
Il Sole.

Even with the
media onslaught, Foster has so far not spoken further about
her relationship or sexuality. But she did make some
poignant comments on the red carpet before the
December 4 breakfast.

Asked by the
trade publication The Hollywood Reporter what
advice she would give to women aspiring to a position
in entertainment, Foster said, “The one lesson is to
try and be who you are, and not try and be somebody
else, because you’re never going to be very
good at being somebody else. And there is a lot of
temptation of that. If it isn’t true, then it
isn’t moving.”