Editorial: A speech that shames Hollywood

Full marks to Jodie Foster. The actress's "coming-out" speech at the Golden Globes award ceremony may have surprised few ardent Hollywood-watchers. But it was no less brave for all that, and no less touching an insight into the difficulties of so public a life.

The only real surprise in Ms Foster's statement is its rarity. Indeed, what it illuminates, as much as anything, is how far Hollywood lags behind the real world when it comes to homosexuality. Even as same-sex marriage is making its way on to statute books across the developed world, not least in the US itself, the number of Hollywood A-listers who are openly gay can be counted on one hand. And of those, the majority are British. Such outdated prejudice would be unacceptable in any event; in the global shop window of American culture, it is lamentable, indeed. Come on, Hollywood. Join the modern world.