ENTERTAINMENTJodie Foster Accidentally Shouts Out the Wrong TV Network in Embarrassing 'Today Show' Mishap: Watch
Jodie Foster mistakenly called out a network other than NBC during the 'Today Show.'
Jan. 6 2026, Published 4:56 p.m. ET
Jodie Foster mixed up her television networks during an appearance on the Today Show.
When co-host Craig Melvin asked the actress to tease the NBC talk show in French, inspired by her new French film A Private Life, she suffered a major slip-up.
Jodie Foster guest-starred on 'Today.'
“Can we say something like ‘This is Today on NBC in French?’” Melvin inquired on the Tuesday, January 6, episode. Foster started off well, then accidentally said “CBS.”
“No, not CBS! NBC! Jodie!” the media personality exclaimed.
The movie star defended her mishap by claiming the names feature the “same letters.”
“It’s a stupid network, Jodie!” Melvin said. “It was going so well.”
Foster encouraged NBC to “cut that out” before the host reminded her they were live, so she apologized.
Jodie Foster Speaks French in 'A Private Life'
Jodie Foster stars in 'A Private Life.'
Foster stars in A Private Life, which releases on January 16. To tap into her character, French psychiatrist Lilian Steiner, the 63-year-old recalled attending French school until age 9, when her mother, Evelyn Almond, encouraged her to become fluent.
“She never traveled anywhere until she was, probably, like 50,” Foster explained. “She left the country, she went to France on one of those bus trips, and came back and said, ‘That’s it. You’re going to learn French, you’re going to go to French school, some day you’ll be a French actor living in France.' That was her dream for me and for herself.”
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Jodie Foster speaks French in her new movie.
In an interview published on January 6, the Taxi Driver alum admitted she was nervous about speaking French in her upcoming film.
“I’d done a few French movies in my life, but I’d never done one that had this much dialogue…” she detailed. “I went to the Lycée Français, and in French my voice is very high, because I learned from all these women who spoke in high voices. I took that on, and my character in the film has a much more feminine way about her. I’ve always been known for my froggy voice. When I was little, they used to call me Froggy.”
Jodie Foster made a major slip-up in conversation with Craig Melvin.
Foster continued, “Mostly, I was scared. What if I said something wrong? The character is a Freudian psychiatrist, living her fantasy of a Parisian woman. She had to have some fabulous outfits. That, and the fact that I was speaking French, turned me into a whole new character.”
Jodie Foster's 'A Private Life' Receives Initial Positive Reviews
Jodie Foster accidentally snubbed NBC.
A Private Life is already receiving positive reviews, with a ranking of 76 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Foster’s French — at least to these ears — sounds impeccable and this is her first feature in the language since 2004’s A Very Long Engagement. She jumps into it with a spiky vitality and an unexpected playfulness that buoy the movie as much as [Rebecca] Zlotowski’s zippy direction,” read a Hollywood Reporter review after the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025.
