Jodie Foster to receive Cecil B. DeMille Award!

\ At the Golden Globe Awards earlier this year, I was horrified when host Ricky Gervais made a thinly-veiled lesbian joke about nominee Jodie Foster within the first 60 seconds of the ceremony.

Said Gervais: ‘I musn’t mention Mel Gibson this year. Not his private life, his politics, his recent films, and especially not Jodie Foster’s Beaver. I haven’t seen it myself. I’ve spoken to a lot of guys who haven’t seen it either. But doesn’t mean it’s not any good.’

Foster directed and co-starred with Gibson in The Beaver at a time when disturbing audio of the actor screaming at his ex-girlfriend surfaced.

Anyway, Foster laughed along with Gervais who, thankfully, will not be back for the next Globes.

But Jodie will be there – this time as the recipient of Cecil B. DeMille Award for her outstanding contribution to the entertainment field, it was announced Thursday.

‘Jodie is a multifaceted woman that has achieved immeasurable amounts of success and will continue to do so in her career,’ said Dr. Aida Takla-O’Reilly, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association which presents the Globes. ‘Her ambition, exuberance and grace have helped pave the way for budding artists in this business. She’s truly one of a kind.’

The actress won Academy Awards for best actress for The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs and was nominated for Taxi Driver and Nell. Her other notable films include Panic Room, Flightplan, Contact, Inside Man, Maverick and Sommersby.

A child star, her earlier films include Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Freaky Friday, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, Foxes and Bugsy Malone.

As a director, she has helmed the films Little Man Tate, Home for the Holidays, and The Beaver.

Foster has been named one of the Out 100 gays and lesbians by Out Magazine on several occasions but has been steadfastly tight-lipped about her sexuality.

Her only public comment ever about a partner was in late 2007 when she received the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at the 16th annual Women in Entertainment Breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Towards the end of her speech, Foster thanked ‘my beautiful Cydney who sticks with me through all the rotten and the bliss.’

She was referring to Cydney Bernard with whom she had been with for several years. They reportedly split the next year.

Previous Cecil B. DeMille recipients include Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand, Doris Day, Kirk Douglas, Harrison Ford, Martin Scorsese, Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Lucille Ball, and Steven Spielberg, among others.

Gervais, host of the Globes for three consecutive years, will not be back. Instead, the more female-friendly duo of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will co-host the ceremony on 13 January.