When people get Lifetime Achievement awards on globally televised award shows, it's probably the biggest single audience they'll have at any one time, so lots of them use it to promote a cause that they're passionate about. In the case of Foster, it was a weirdly personal one about celebrity, homosexuality (both in that she didn't need to say she was gay because everyone already knows, but also mentioning it would help break what glass ceiling remains), privacy, the media and how they all intermingle in a not-very-successful way at times. I've read the transcript of the speech and, while I can't say it's the most coherent piece of oratory I've read, it certainly says some powerful things. Good for her.