Jane Fonda gave an emotional speech in defense of the First Amendment Sunday night at the star-studded Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment.
The event, held at City Hall in New York, was organized by the First Amendment Committee, a group originally formed in 1947 during the McCarthy era but recently revived by Fonda.
“At the moment, the government and its agents [are] “It routinely violates the First Amendment to silence artists,” she said on stage. “Closing institutions like the Kennedy Center, funding museums and the National Endowment for the Arts, banning books, canceling television, and hosts speaking out. It’s really bad. It is allowed by cowardly corporations. “I will not mention names now, but I am now honored to pass the microphone to the artists and activists who continue to speak and sing so that we can be inspired to rise up.”
Fonda also thanked the public for attending and supporting the committee’s mission of “defending free expression against government oppression, industry complicity and intimidation,” according to its website.
“Attending is an act of hope, and you all give me hope,” she said. “These rights are for everyone, everyone. And we must defend them for everyone. Even if we don’t agree with them. You know, it’s not about Democrats or Republicans, left or right. It’s about right or wrong. And that’s wrong. It’s wrong to attack people and call them terrorists for exercising their rights and freedoms. It’s time for Americans across the country, from across the political spectrum, who care about these freedoms, to stand up creatively, peacefully, to defend these rights, while we can, and we must do it now because If we don’t, we won’t have any right to come down.
Fonda went on to explain why she revived the First Amendment Committee, a group that originally boasted several Hollywood stars, including her father, Henry Fonda, along with Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Danny Kaye, among its ranks.
“The committee was relaunched last October to bring together the entertainment industry,” she said. “At this moment, when our democracy is at risk. In the face of what is happening, we need our industry to be united, activated, and unwilling to engage in preemptive obedience. We stand together in defense of our right to free speech. They are coming for one of us, and by God, they are coming for all of us.”
Also on the bill at Sunday night’s event were Julia Roberts, Robert De Niro, Tessa Thompson, Ayo Edebiri, Bette Midler, Dame Rachel, Joy Reid, Lily Gladstone, Patti Smith and others.
