He is 85 years old, has a brilliant film career behind him and has recently overcome cancer But Jane Fonda has no intention of slowing down her climate change activism in the face of “the worst crisis humanity has ever faced.”
“My cancer is in remission. I have a lot of energy, I’m ready to fight,” he told AFP on Thursday behind the scenes of the Hollywood Climate Summit.
“I’m part of the Hollywood community. I don’t think the Hollywood community has done enough to deal with this crisis. So I’m here to encourage that,” the two-time Oscar winner said.
The summit brings together industry figures with scientists and activists in a bid to change industry culture and encourage filmmakers to positively influence their audiences.
It takes place at the Academy headquarters in The Angelsand features spokespersons such as “Everything Everywhere at the Same Time” directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, and “Abbott Elementary” star Quinta Brunson.
Fonda led a panel called “Hollywood Reflection on Oil and Gas,” calling on the entertainment industry to divest all investments from the fossil fuel sector and reduce its carbon footprint.
He spoke about a California law that prohibits new oil wells within a mile of residences, schools and parks.
After years of campaigning, the bill was finally signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022, but energy companies raked in enough signatures to freeze the measure and demand a state referendum next year.
“People are suffering from cancer, heart disease, lung disease and asthma. Children are missing school, children are born with congenital problems because they live near infrastructure in the fossil fuel sector,” Fonda said.
If the oil companies succeed in overturning the law in a state “concerned about environmental issues like Californiathis will become a precedent in other states of the country,” he added.
“This has to be stopped. This requires all our efforts.”
“All I Can”
Fonda rose to fame in the 1960s with roles like “Barbarella,” which made her a worldwide sex symbol, before earning critical acclaim that earned her two Academy Awards in the following decade for “My past condemns me” and “I return without glory”.
During that time, Fonda embraced activism.
She became the first Hollywood celebrity to visit the city of Hanoi to protest the Vietnam War, a gesture that earned her the nickname “Hanoi Jane.”
But the environmental issue has become a priority for Fonda, one of the most influential political activists in the United States.
In recent years she has spoken about ocean biodiversity at the United Nations, protested a proposed pipeline in Minnesota and been arrested weekly for leading demonstrations against the climate crisis outside the Capitol in Washington.
“If I don’t do the things you just mentioned, I get depressed to the point of not being able to sleep”Fonda commented.
“But I’m not depressed, because I do everything I can (…) We all have to do everything we can before it’s too late.”
Talking about ecological issues carries risks for celebrities. Critics are always quick to accuse stars of enjoying a glamorous lifestyle while preaching austerity.
But Fonda believes that such taunts are often just a sign that the message is working. “They do it when we are effective,” he says.
“The right-wing sectors of our society don’t like celebrities to speak out, because people listen to us. And they say: ‘What does she know? She’s just an actress. What does she know?'”
“People Listen”
Fonda has also enjoyed a flurry of acting projects in recent years, including the movies “80 for Brady” and “When They Want More” and the Netflix series “Grace and Frankie.”
But last September he revealed that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had started chemotherapy.
Barely three months later, Fonda, who had already gotten over her breast and skin cancer scares, announced that the disease had remitted and that she was no longer undergoing treatment.
As the writers’ strike currently paralyzes many Hollywood productions, Fonda intends to focus all her energies on activism ahead of next year’s US election.
“I’m not even going to try to work for the next year and a half, because I want to focus on this,” he said. “The next elections are really crucial.”
She added: “When you’re famous and you have a platform, people listen, people pay attention.” “And take advantage of it! For a crisis that is the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced.”
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