Jane Fonda has suggested the Democratic Party needs a change in leadership if it wants a chance of fighting back against President Donald Trump and his administration.
The actress and activist appeared on CNN’s Inside Politics on Wednesday (October 1), where host Dana Bash asked Fonda how she feels the Democrats are currently doing. Fonda responded bluntly, saying, “Not good enough.”
“I don’t feel that our leaders are doing what they need to do,” the Grace and Frankie star added. “If you can’t change the people… change the people.”
Fonda’s comments come as she relaunches the Committee for the First Amendment, which was initially created during the McCarthy Era in support of the Hollywood Ten, ten left-wing screenwriters and directors who were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).
The original Committee for the First Amendment was founded by screenwriter Philip Dunne, actress Myrna Loy, and film directors John Huston and William Wyler. Fonda’s late father, Henry Fonda, was one of the members alongside stars such as Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, and many more.
Fonda has relaunched the group amid ABC’s recent decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel over comments he made on-air about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. ABC’s decision was met with backlash and accusations of censoring free speech. Kimmel’s suspension was lifted last week, and his late-night show is now back on the air.
The Oscar-winner said the new Committee for the First Amendment will aim to protect free speech amid the “forces of repression” from the Trump administration.
“[Trump] is amassing power in a way that will destroy our democracy,” Fonda said on CNN, per The Wrap. “And so we‘re going to stand up. We‘re creatives. We‘re storytellers. We can do it creatively. We can have a good time while we do it. We we want to push back and we want to make a model of what creative non-violent, non-cooperation looks like.”
She added, “That doesn’t mean just showing up for people who are under attack like Jimmy Kimmel. We want to be proactive and we want show what that can look like and violence will not be tolerated. We don’t want any of that, but we want we want move forward with love with unity, with solidarity.”
Several stars have already signed up for the Committee, including Ben Stiller, Barbra Streisand, Ethan Hawke, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jon Hamm, Natalie Portman, Nicolas Cage, Sally Field, Lily Tomlin, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Winona Ryder, and many more.