Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(129,636 posts)
Wed Oct 1, 2025, 08:42 PM Oct 1

Jane Fonda Relaunches McCarthy-Era Committee For The First Amendment With Support Of 550 Celebrities Including Barbra

Streisand, Pedro Pascal, Ben Stiller & Billy Crystal

Jane Fonda is relaunching the Committee for the First Amendment, the McCarthy-era committee founded by her father Henry Fonda with such stars as Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall to protect against attacks on free speech.

Fonda’s new iteration already has the support of more than 550 boldface including Barbra Streisand, Kerry Washginton, Natalie Portman, Aaron Sorkin, Spike Lee, Viola Davis, Pedro Pascal, Gracie Abrams, Ben Stiller, Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Penn, John Legend, Julianne Moore, Janelle Monae, Issa Rae, Adam McKay, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ethan Hawke, Quinta Brunson, Judd Apatow, Billie Eillish, Anjelica Huston, Rosie O’Donnell, Helen Mirren, Patty Jenkins, Damon Lindelof, Fran Drescher and Ted Danson, among others.

Find the full list of signees here.

In its first statement, released today, the Committee writes, “This Committee was initially created during the McCarthy Era, a dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs. They targeted elected officials, government employees, academics, and artists. They were blacklisted, harassed, silenced, and even imprisoned….Those forces have returned. And it is our turn to stand together in defense of our constitutional rights.”

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/jane-fonda-relaunches-mccarthy-era-155648033.html
6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Jane Fonda Relaunches McCarthy-Era Committee For The First Amendment With Support Of 550 Celebrities Including Barbra (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Oct 1 OP
Excellent! SheltieLover Oct 1 #1
K&R UTUSN Oct 1 #2
A pic of her being arrested in a 2019 claimeat change protests. I've admired her since she was attaced Ping Tung Oct 1 #3
It's interesting that Kimmel, Colbert, Myers and Fallon choie Oct 1 #4
MaddowBlog-Trump White House adds Jane Fonda to its growing list of celebrity targets LetMyPeopleVote Oct 2 #5
Jane Fonda is an amazing person. She is beautiful inside and out. walkingman Oct 3 #6

Ping Tung

(3,848 posts)
3. A pic of her being arrested in a 2019 claimeat change protests. I've admired her since she was attaced
Wed Oct 1, 2025, 09:06 PM
Oct 1

for protesting the Vietnam slaughter.

LetMyPeopleVote

(171,116 posts)
5. MaddowBlog-Trump White House adds Jane Fonda to its growing list of celebrity targets
Thu Oct 2, 2025, 07:33 PM
Oct 2

Whether Trump realizes this or not, the more he and his team try to fight celebrities, the smaller and more pitiful the White House appears.

Trump White House adds Jane Fonda to its growing list of celebrity targets www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

🅦🅔🅢 🅡🅤🅢🅢🅔🅛🅛🦋📚 (@wesruss.bsky.social) 2025-10-02T16:24:53.275Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-white-house-adds-jane-fonda-growing-list-celebrity-targets-rcna235165

In 1947, as Republican Sen. Joe McCarthy helped fuel a notorious “red scare,” the Committee for the First Amendment was formed to push back against the tide. Academy Award winner Henry Fonda, a few years after his decorated World War II military service, was among the committee’s earliest and most prominent members.

Nearly eight decades later, his daughter is helping carry a very similar torch. The Associated Press reported:

Drawing upon her personal and political past, Jane Fonda has revived an activist group from the Cold War era that was backed by her father and fellow Oscar winner, Henry Fonda. Jane Fonda announced she had launched a 21st century incarnation of the Committee for the First Amendment, originally formed in 1947 in response to Congressional hearings aimed against screenwriters and directors — notably the so-called ‘Hollywood Ten’ — and their alleged Communist ties. Signers of the new organization’s mission statement include Florence Pugh, Sean Penn, Billie Eilish, Pedro Pascal and hundreds of others.


I’m 87 years old. I’ve seen war, repression, protest, and backlash. I’ve been celebrated, and I’ve been branded an enemy of the state. But I can tell you this: this is the most frightening moment of my life,” Fonda wrote in a letter inviting her peers to join the re-established group. “When I feel scared, I look to history. I wish there were a secret playbook with all the answers — but there never has been. The only thing that has ever worked — time and time again — is solidarity: binding together, finding bravery in numbers too big to ignore, and standing up for one another.”......

In May, the president demanded investigations into Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Bono. A week earlier, when Trump was still in the midst of a Middle East trip, the Republican set aside some time to suggest that Taylor Swift is no longer “hot,” due entirely to his criticisms of the pop star.

Soon after, the White House took aim at “South Park,” as the president continued to rail against late-night comedians.

Whether Trump realizes this or not, the more he and his team try to fight celebrities, the more the White House appears small and pitiful. For all the effort Republicans invest in making the president out to be some powerful colossus, what we’re left with is a flailing man whose operation feels compelled to whine about actors, cartoons and late-night monologues.

walkingman

(9,939 posts)
6. Jane Fonda is an amazing person. She is beautiful inside and out.
Fri Oct 3, 2025, 12:43 PM
Oct 3

She has been fighting for societal issues her entire life.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Jane Fonda Relaunches McC...