We Need to Talk About Jane Fonda

This is not a drill.

In a nation wrapped up in talks of impeachment, Jane Fonda is raising the alarm. Each Friday, she dons her brilliantly red coat, sometimes a jaunty fedora, and heads to protest climate change at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, and has been arrested for her efforts for the last four weeks. Fonda, who picked up her life and moved to Washington D.C. in September, now spends her days highlighting the urgency of climate change.

This is Not a Drill

On Labor Day Weekend in Big Sur, while dealing with a deep-seated depression and intense urge to do more than just fly commercial and not use plastic, the idea for Fire Drill Fridays began to form. The plan unfolded quickly. The name, inspired by sixteen-year-old Sweditch activist, Great Thunbergs “Our House is on Fire”. Armed with signs calling for action and dressed in red, a color to convey urgency, Fonda and her fellow protestors are pressing for Climate Change to be treated like the crisis it truly is.

Times Have Changed

Known for her stellar acting career, including movies like Nine to Five and Monster-in-law, and award-winning shows like The Newsroom and currently Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, Fonda has always been more than just a pretty face on the silver screen. She has been an activist since the 1960s, supporting the Civil Rights Movement and opposing the Vietnam War.

Now she is pushing for Climate Change and rights for women, noting that activism has changed since the 1970s.

On her website, Fonda proudly posts photos of her being arrested, noting that it wasn’t her first time. The first time she was arrested was on suspicion of trafficking drugs when coming back from an anti-war college speaking tour in Canada.

“White plastic “handcuffs” were put on each of us, we were taken to the nearby police station for a few hours. The plastic handcuffs hurt more than the metal ones and I discovered that it’s not easy for an 82-year-old to get in and out of a police paddy wagon without the use of her hands.”

After spending a night in jail, she noted that her bones hurt, that she had used her coat as a mattress.

With a Little Help From My Friends

Jane isn’t the only celebrity lining up to be arrested each Friday. Ted Danson, Rosanna Arquette, Catherine Keener, and fellow Grace and Frankie Star, Sam Waterson have all been arrested with their friend.

It’s not just Fonda’s famous friends that are showing up for the actress. The amount of protestors that joined her last Friday have tripled in numbers since she started four weeks ago.

While she doesn’t want to end up in prison, Fonda has pledged to show up every Friday until mid-January, when she has to go back to filming Grace and Frankie. She wants to inspire the masses to flood the streets and implore lawmakers to wake up, take notice, and most of all, do something.

“Why be a celebrity if you can’t leverage if for something that is important?”

Fonda is not only showing up and standing up for what she believes in, she is proving herself right. When asked if her civil disobedience was having its intended affect, she responded:

“You are all here, so I think it’s working.”

Not long after she answered the question, she was arrested for the fourth time.

In a world where celebrities spend more time pushing makeup palettes and fitness brands, we could learn a little something from Jane Fonda.

To get involved, visit Fire Drill Fridays.

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Ashley Shannon is a queer single mom of two kids, one with autism. She writes about relationships, mental health issues, being a single parent, and sexuality. She is currently looking for the perfect school bus to turn into a traveling tiny home and can be found on twitter @as_publishing.