Context: In an article, Ms. Foster was quoted as saying "I hate weakness" and indicating that she would not help a helpless little bird that had fallen out of its nest (something to that effect).

No one loves birds more than I do (Parry the parakeet was one of the family; and we're on our umpteenth hummingbird feeder, held aloft by a shrine to St. Francis, for goodness' sake), but I'd like to put in a good word for Ms. Jodie ("I hate weakness") Foster.

Methinks the lady doth protest too much. If we simply look at the first film she chose to direct, we see not a callous work of might makes right but rather Little Man Tate, a tender tale of love between a mother and son.

I believe the majority of her other works, such as Nell or The Accused, likewise show the need for strength, to liberate, not oppress. According to your article, that has been the theme of her life as well.

In a "tough town", it takes "tough talk" to survive. And while I would never underestimate her resolve to speak her mind or to achieve her goals, Ms. Foster has always seemed too much of a team-player to be feared as a back-stabber.

How have I come to believe such things of a total stranger? A little bird told me.