Jane Fonda is riding her soapbox at the SAG Awards.
The SAG nominated actress was recognized for her decades of career in the Lifetime Achievement Award at Sunday’s ceremony. Fonda was honored by actress Julia Louis Dreyfus.
“This means the world to me,” Fonda said. “And your enthusiasm makes it look like “Go, Girl. Kick Ass” rather than the late Twilight of my life.
Apart from waxing poetic things about her love for acting, Fonda became openly about her passion for social justice and began with gratitude to the union.
“I have a great faith in the union. They have our backs,” Fonda said. “Community means power. This is really important now when workers’ power is being attacked and communities are weakened.”
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Fonda’s fiery speech could not even be derailed by a malfunction in the SAG Awards Teleprompter. “I can recall a voice,” she joked.
The actress also shot an attack on President Donald Trump’s diversity, equity and inclusion while discussing the importance of empathy in acting. Fonda temporarily referenced Sebastian Stan’s portrayal of Trump in his 2024 biography, “Apprentice.”
“Undoubtedly, I’m not weak in empathy, ‘I’ve woken up,'” Fonda said. “And by the way, ‘waking up’ means you care about other people. ”
Read Jane Fonda’s complete SAG Award speech
“This means the world to me, and your enthusiasm makes it look like “Go, Girl, Kick Ass” rather than the late Twilight of my life. A strange career – I’ve retired for 15 years and do my own stunts in action movies.
Have you ever heard the phrase “It’s okay to be a late bluemer as long as you don’t miss the Flower Show”? I’m a slow bluemer. This is a flower show. I love acting. We open people’s minds to new ideas and beyond what they understand about the world, helping them laugh when they are as difficult as they are now. And for women like me who grew up in the 40s and 50s when women weren’t supposed to have an opinion and be angry, acting gave me the opportunity to play an angry woman with an opinion. Stretch for me.
I have a great faith in unions. They have our backs. They take us into the community and they empower us. Community means power, which is very important now when workers’ power is being attacked and communities are weakened.
However, SAG-AFTRA is different from most other unions. Because we are workers, we are actors, we are actors, we are not manufacturing concrete things. What we create is empathy. Our job is to have a very deep understanding of another person and get into touch with their souls. I know why they do what they do. We feel their joy and pain…and I can remind you of a voice.
We need to drill deep, right? For example, if a young woman is amputated, or (if) she is a sex worker, there is a good chance that she is sexually abused or (of the victim) incest as a young girl. I’m thinking of Brie Daniels in “Crute.” And I’m sure many of you have played bullies and misogynists. You can probably know that their father bullyed them and called out a man he felt was a weak “loser”…and you may dislike the behavior of your character But you need to understand and empathize with the traumatized people you’re playing with, right? I’m thinking of Sebastian Stan as “Apprentice.”
Don’t make mistakes, don’t you have weak empathy or “awakening.” By the way, “waking up” means caring about other people. Returning to empathy. Many people will be really hurt by what is happening and what is happening in our way. And even if they are another political persuasion, we need to hear from our hearts and welcome them into our tents, rather than resonating with us and judgement. Because we need a big tent to resist what’s coming to us. I made my first film in 1958. It was the tail end of McCarthyism, where so many careers were destroyed.
It’s helpful to remember that Hollywood resisted today. We did. Brave American producers like Hannah Weinstein hired Black Listed Writers. Myrna Loy, John Huston and Billy Wilder have established the First Amendment Committee. They had a radio show called “Hollywood Fightback” on ABC Radio. Members of the committee included all the famous actors of the town. Have you seen documentaries about apartheid, the civil rights movements, and great social movements like Stonewall? Have you managed to take the hose, baton and dog? We’re in the documentary moment, so there’s no need to wonder anymore.
This is it, not a rehearsal. This is it, and we should not give birth to ourselves to a child for a while about what is going on. This is a serious time, people. So let’s be brave. This is a good time for little Norma Ray, Karen Silk Wood and Tom Jodo. You should not isolate it. We must remain in the community. We must help vulnerable people. We must find ways to project an inspiring vision for the future. This has to find something beckoning to help people believe, to quote novelist Pearl Krej. There is still beauty and the sea of truth for us to swim. Let’s do that. Thank you for this encouragement. ”
(This story has been updated to add new information.)