Jodie Foster Opens Up About Surviving Sexual Abuse in Hollywood: “I Was Too Dangerous to Touch”

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Jodie Foster recently shared in an NPR interview how she managed to avoid sexual abuse during her teenage years in Hollywood. The acclaimed actress, who has won two Oscars, believes her early success and the power that came with it helped protect her.

Jodie Foster shared that receiving an Oscar nomination at age 12 for her performance in Taxi Driver unexpectedly gave her a level of influence in Hollywood that many other young actors didn’t experience. She’s been reflecting on this, saying, “I’ve had to really think about how I navigated that situation, and there were definitely subtle instances of prejudice along the way.”

Most women experience subtle forms of sexism at work. But I realized I was protected from that, and from more serious mistreatment, because I had gained a degree of power relatively early in life. By the time I received my first Oscar nomination, I was considered influential enough that people were afraid to cross me. I had the ability to damage someone’s career or expose wrongdoing, which meant I wasn’t an easy target.

Foster believes her direct and unemotional nature has shielded her from manipulation. She explained that because she doesn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve, it’s harder for others to control her. She described predatory people as those who exploit vulnerability – targeting those who are young, powerless, or weak – to gain control and diminish others.

While Jodie Foster hasn’t personally experienced abuse, she’s become a supportive figure for other actors who have faced harassment. Natalie Portman shared on the Smartless podcast last year that Foster contacted her after Portman publicly discussed being sexually harassed as a young actress. Portman said, “I gave a speech at a Women’s March about being harassed when I was a young actress, and she reached out to me afterwards. We talked, and it was incredible. She continues to be a role model for me.”

I’ve always been a huge Natalie Portman fan, and it’s fascinating to hear her talk about her early career. Like Jodie Foster, she started acting really young, and she got her big break in Léon: The Professional when she was just eleven! She recently shared something really insightful – she said that acting serious on set actually helped her feel safer. She explained that it was like an unconscious way of sending a message – a warning, almost – that she wasn’t someone to mess with. She was careful to add that no one ever deserves to be treated badly, but that projecting seriousness was how she protected herself back then.

Foster’s observations reveal how having influence and self-awareness can guide young actors through the difficulties of working in Hollywood.

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2026-01-15 19:15