One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Attention, Starbucks Barista: Helen Hunt Is Not Jodie Foster
A 2012 photo where Helen Hunt actually *does* look like Jodie Foster—a resemblance we had never noticed until now. (Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)
It's hard out there for a woman in Hollywood, particularly a woman over forty who isn't named "Meryl." Not only are women marginalized to a mere 30 percent of Hollywood's speaking roles, but a recent study found that as women get older, they are given increasingly less on-screen dialogue. And this is all while making 78 cents on the dollar (if we're lucky).
Still, you'd think the neighborhood coffee shop would at least be a refuge. A place where a female with star power could be recognized with a knowing smile, and maybe even granted free extra whipped cream on her latte. But it seems Oscar-winning actress Helen Hunt can't even catch a break at Starbucks.
In a tweet from this afternoon, Hunt recounts ordering her drink and asking the barista if she wanted her name; the barista winked and said "We gotcha." And then handed her a cup with "Jody" [sic] scrawled on it. Brutal.
Ordered my drink @Starbucks Asked the barista if she wanted my name. She winked and said. "We gotcha" #JodieFoster pic.twitter.com/ItjBZoJzP2
— Helen Hunt (@HelenHunt) May 23, 2016
Apparently, the barista wasn't the first to mistake the two Oscar-winning actresses. Hunt even discussed it on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1994:
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
