One of the more unexpected career moves in late 2019 has been Jane Fonda’s return to her roots. No, not the Broadway stage or exercise videos. The 81-year-old performer once derided (or celebrated, depending on your point of view) as “Hanoi Jane,” has spent the past two months taking direct action with the group Oil Change International, and getting arrested as a result.
“I can no longer stand by and let our elected officials ignore — and even worse — empower — the industries that are destroying our planet for profit,” she stated on her website during her first arrest in early October.
Since then she has continued to bang the drum in the name of environmental awareness and activism, holding what’s been called “Fire Drill Fridays.” Fonda has been arrested a total of four times, and a fifth could get her a substantial stay in jail. (After her fourth arrest, she’s held back when the cuffs come out.) She brings the Hollywood spotlight to the cause, naturally, and this has led to some perhaps unexpected collaborators.
Yesterday’s protest included the first bonafide “wow, didn’t see that coming” cameo when Ian Armitage (Young Sheldon himself) made a speech on the Capitol steps.
With Fonda’s hands on his shoulder, he told a Washington Post reporter that he was “unfortunately” too young to get arrested.
It can sometimes be easy to lose track of celebrity activities, so here’s a timeline of who has accompanied Jane to the clink thus far.
October 11th – Fonda is arrested for the first time, along with two other protestors who have not been in movies or a Netflix series.
October 18th – Fonda is arrested with Grace & Frankie co-star Sam Waterston.
October 25th – Fonda is arrested with Ted Danson. Fonda and Danson share no substantial credits, unless you count Danson’s “special thanks” in Book Club.
November 1st – Fonda is arrested with Catherine Keener and Rosanna Arquette. The trio co-starred in the Bruce Beresford film Peace, Love & Misunderstanding.
November 8th – Fonda appeared at the weekly rally, but left prior to the usual police round-up. Reporters noted that had she been arrested five times in such close succession she would be hit with more than just the typical “night in jail,” and could actually be detained for weeks. Ice cream moguls and righteous hippies Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were arrested in her place.
November 15th – More Grace and Frankie co-stars joined Fonda at the rally on the 15th, with Brooklyn Decker and June Diane Raphael arrested, again in lieu of Fonda herself. Marg Helgenberger did the same.
November 22nd – Fonda returned to the Capital building in her red coat, bringing Amber Valletta, Piper Perabo and Diane Lane who got arrested on her behalf. Manny Jacinto was there for the protest, but did not get hauled away for some reason. He really needs to speak to his manager about that.
November 28th – As mentioned above, Young Sheldon was there for the post-Thanksgiving rally. Paul Scheer (who is married to June Diane Raphael) fell on the arrest grenade this week, along with 38 other protestors who don’t appear on television or co-host amazing podcasts.
Considering Fonda’s longevity in Hollywood there’s likely no end to special guest appearances for future Friday Fire Drills. Perhaps this will lead to a new sports book in Vegas. And, more importantly, people remembering to vote.