Golden Globes: Jodie Foster hints at being gay, retirement in strange 'lonely' speech

LOS ANGELES – So is she, or isn't she?

That was the question on Golden Globes' watchers minds, on two totally separate topics, following Jodie Foster's rambling speech Sunday night.

Those two topics: Is she gay, and is she ... retiring?

There were a lot of memorable moments during the 2013 Golden Globes, but probably the most head-scratching was Foster's lengthy acceptance speech after receiving the Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement.

Foster, 50, noted that she did her "coming out in the Stone Age" and revealed herself as a "single woman," before talking about her life in terms of reality television.

"Now, apparently, I'm told that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference... You guys might be surprised, but I'm not Honey Boo Boo child," she continued. "If you have been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler... then maybe you, too, might value privacy above all else. Privacy."

Foster also unleashed a deeper sense of sadness behind the veil of her Hollywood existence, saying that she wants "to be seen, to be understood deeply, and to be not so very lonely," and offered a shout-out to her mother, who is seemingly at the end of her life:

"I love you, I love you, I love you, and I hope if I say that three times, then one of those times will sink in and you will believe you were a good mother," she said.

The star also hinted at retirement from acting by stating that she would not be returning to this stage, or any stage, and moved much of the star-studded crowd to tears.

"It's just that from now on, I may be holding a different talking stick," Foster said.

Throughout her clearly rehearsed, but still somewhat nonsensical, onstage stream of sentences, eyebrows were being raised backstage, with many wondering what on earth she was really trying to say.

And then once backstage, Foster backtracked completely on her perplexing words about ending her life in front of the lens, and seemed shocked that it was interpreted that she was retiring.

"Oh, no, that's so funny," she responded. "You couldn't drag me away. And I'd like to be directing tomorrow."

Yet when asked if she was concerned about her strange speech being the subject of speculation post-Golden Globes, Foster didn't waste a moment in saying no.

"It stands for itself and it's an expression of who I am and what I'm thinking and feeling," she said.