Jane Fonda has called on Hollywood to focus on empathy, stressing its importance amid America's political divide.
Fonda made her remarks after being honored Sunday with the Screen Actors Guild's Life Achievement Award.
"What we, actors, create is empathy. Our job is to understand another human being so profoundly that we can touch their souls," said Fonda, according to Variety. "And make no mistake, empathy is not weak or woke. By the way, woke just means you give a damn about other people."
During her speech, Fonda alluded to the political environment amid President Donald Trump's drive to cut federal jobs.
"A whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening," she said. "Even if they're of a different political persuasion, we need to not judge but listen from our hearts."
Fonda also stressed the importance of unions like SAG-AFTRA in protecting people during unsettling times in history.
"I'm a big believer in unions. They have our backs," she said. "They bring us into community, and they give us power. Community means power, and this is really important right now when workers' power has been attacked and community is being weakened."
Over the past six decades, Fonda has built a career in film, TV, and theater with standout roles in “Klute,” “9 to 5,” and “Grace & Frankie.” The 87-year-old has won two Oscars, an Emmy, and seven Golden Globes, as well as countless nominations. She's also received lifetime achievement honors from the American Film Institute and landed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Presenting her with SAG's Life Achievement Award was Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who described Fonda as a woman whose "life on and off the screen has simply been epic." Louis-Dreyfus also praised Fonda's energy.
"For the love of God! Slow down, Jane. You're making us all look like [expletive]," she added.
Fonda, who raised eyebrows with her seemingly curt red-carpet interview prior to the event, was the 60th recipient of SAG's Life Achievement Award. Other honorees include Barbra Streisand, Sally Field, and Helen Mirren.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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