Jane Fonda On Climate Activism & 'Best Birthday Party I Ever Had'

Actor Jane Fonda is at the helm of the Fire Drill Fridays, a series of demonstrations in Wash., D.C., demanding bold action to address the climate crisis. The movement is calling for, among other demands, an embrace of a Green New Deal, justice & sovereignty for indigenous communities, a 100% shift to clean, renewable energy by 2030, and investment in a sustainable & regenerative agriculture industry.
Last Friday, a day before Jane Fonda's 82nd birthday, the longtime political activist, feminist & 2-time Academy Award winner was arrested for the 5th time along with more than 140 others inside the Hart Senate Office Building. Demonstrators sang "Happy Birthday" to her as she was taken outside. "I can tell you one thing: it was the best birthday party I ever had," she says.



- "Jane Fonda Arrested: We Are in a Climate Emergency. I Have No Choice But to Put My Body on the Line." Democracy Now! (30 mins). A new round of protests, Fire Drill Fridays, led by actress Jane Fonda are calling for action to address the climate crisis, as bushfires fueled by a historic heat wave threaten Australia, high tides threaten to flood Venice, and the Philippines prepares for a Christmas typhoon. Last Friday, a day before Jane Fonda’s 82nd birthday, the longtime political activist, feminist & 2-time Academy Award winner was arrested for the 5th time, as she has been nearly every Friday in Washington since she started Fire Drill Fridays, inspired in part by the Swedish youth climate activist Greta Thunberg. She was arrested along with more than 140 others inside the Hart Senate Office Building, and demonstrators sang “Happy Birthday” to her as she was taken outside.

This month Jane Fonda wrote an op-ed in The New York Times headlined “We Have to Live Like We’re in a Climate Emergency. Because We Are.” In it, she writes, “It should come as no surprise that I believe in the power of protest. That’s why I moved to Washington to start what I call Fire Drill Fridays, joining the millions of young people around the world who turned out in the fall for protests to demand that our leaders act to save their futures.” We speak with Jane Fonda about her climate activism and why she started Fire Drill Fridays. Pub. Dec. 24, 2019.