Skip To...
Jane Fonda takes aim at Donald Trump during a powerful speech at the SAG Awards, sharing her thoughts on the woke culture. This weekend, the 87-year-old joined a slew of celebrities who attended the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The actress beamed as she received a Life Achievement Award for her contribution to the arts, utilizing the opportunity to blurt out some of her political opinions regarding the current happenings in the United States under Trump’s administration. While she did not expressly call out the President, her acceptance speech hit the nail on the head, earning her a standing ovation.
Taking to the stage on Sunday, Jane Fonda acknowledged the SAG Awards recognition in her speech, admitting it gave her the nudge to keep forging farther in her career. She reminisced about her acting journey decades ago and how she returned from retirement to build an even more successful Hollywood profile. Describing herself as a late bloomer, Fonda cheered for her fellow actors attending the event and the privilege of having a union backing them. She shared,
“SAG-AFTRA is different than most other unions because we the workers, we actors, we don’t manufacture anything tangible. What we create is empathy. Our job is to understand another human being so profoundly that we can touch their souls, We know why they do what they do, We feel their joy and their pain, and can conjure up voices.”
Jane Fonda Defends the Woke Culture During Politically-Charged Speech
Fonda proceeded to break down her idea of empathy, and how actors had to understand that certain character traits arise from traumatizing childhood experiences. Buttressing this point, Jane Fonda cited “Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice,” a movie about Donald Trump’s life and the establishment of his real estate empire. She added,
“Make no mistake, empathy is not weak or ‘woke.’ And by the way, ‘woke’ just means you give a damn about other people. Back to empathy. A whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening, what is coming our way. And even if they’re of a different political persuasion, we need to call upon our empathy and not judge, but listen from our hearts and welcome them into our tent.”
After referencing Donald Trump’s questionable policies, she called on fellow actors to rise and fight, against the oppression this administration presents. She also encouraged fellow actors to protect the vulnerable and see this era as their own real-life “documentary moment” to stage a revolution, social or civil rights movement, just like the legendary names people rever to date because they made a stand. Jane Fonda concluded the SAG Awards speech, voicing,
“We must find ways to project an inspiring vision of the future, one that is beckoning, welcoming, that will help people believe that — to quote the novelist Pearl Cleage — on the other side of the conflagration, there will still be love. There will still be beauty, and there will be an ocean of truth for us to swim in. Let’s make it so. Thank you for this encouragement.”
Fans Praise Fonda’s Swipe at Donald Trump
Jane Fonda’s SAG Awards acceptance speech reverberated through the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium and beyond. Many fans turned to social media platforms to commend the 87-year-old’s revolutionary speech, especially the bit targeting Trump’s anti-woke ideologies. One impressed fan wrote on Reddit,
“She’s got more guts than 90% of Hollywood put together. I hope she inspired more celebs to speak up too.”
Another commented,
“I don’t have a lot of celebrities that I would consider role models, but she’s one of them.”
A third wrote,
“She has ALWAYS, ALWAYS walked the walk, and talked the talk. Been arrested and hated by many Americans for fighting for what she believes in, for decades. And she’s ignored it all and continues to fight for rights for everyone. She’s so cool.”
A fourth Redditor reacted,
“It was truly inspiring. I have so much respect for her. Her speech was spot on.”
Jane Fonda’s SAG Awards speech comes in the wake of Donald Trump’s move to declare himself as the chair of the Kennedy Center board in a bid to end their “woke” tradition. The POTUS’ unprecedented move would potentially give his administration more influence over the world of arts and entertainment, as the center would refrain from putting up cultural works Trump disagrees with. Thereafter, the president openly declared there would be “no more woke in this country” ultimately offering an idea of the sort of things he hopes to abolish as the cheer of the performing arts center.
