A defiant Jane Fonda aimed a thinly veiled dig at Donald Trump, warning that “a lot of people are going to be hurt by what’s coming our way,” during her acceptance speech for the SAG-Aftra Lifetime Achievement award.
The veteran actress, 87, overcame a brief technical glitch to convey her powerful message of hope and unity, warning the room of A-listers “we must not isolate, we must stay in community, we must help the vulnerable.”
Fonda was presented with the prestigious award at the 31st annual SAG awards, which took place at the Shrine in Los Angeles, on Sunday evening.
Though Fonda did not name Trump by name she gave a shout out to Sebastian Stan, who plays the president in The Apprentice. “Though you may hate the behavior of your character, you have to understand and empathize with the traumatized person you’re playing,” she said.
“Empathy is not weak or ‘woke.’ And, by the way, ‘woke’ just means you give a damn about other people,” she said.
“A whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening, what is coming our way. And even if they are of different persuasion we need to call upon our empathy and listen with our hearts and welcome them into our tent. Because we are going to need a big tent to resist successfully what is coming at us.”
Fonda added: “We are in our documentary moment. We mustn’t for a moment kid ourselves about what is happening…We must not isolate, we must stay in community, we must help the vulnerable.
“We must find ways to project an inspiriting vision of the future.”
As well as her decades-long career on stage and screen, Fonda is well-known for her civil rights activism, having been vocal on issues including gender equality, anti-war and the global climate crisis.
In October 2019, Fonda was arrested five times for protesting outside the United States Capitol for reduction in the use of fossil fuels.
Fonda’s passionate speech was also derailed when the pre-recorded announcer started speaking over her. She laughed off the incident, declaring “I can conjure up voices!”
