Jane Fonda delivered a powerful speech while accepting the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award on Sunday night. The 87-year-old actor used her platform to call for empathy and political activism in Hollywood. “Make no mistake, empathy is not weak or woke.
"We never win, this is so weird!"
Well Selena, you and the @OnlyMurdersHulu crew are all winners tonight! #SAGAwards pic.twitter.com/r0ra5UT6Gi
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 24, 2025
And by the way, ‘woke’ just means you give a damn about other people,” Fonda said.
"I poured everything I had into playing this incomparable artist, Mr. Bob Dylan."
Congrats to @RealChalamet on his #SAGAwards win! pic.twitter.com/wXx0DOxmnU
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 24, 2025
She warned that many people will be hurt by what is happening politically and urged the industry to listen with open hearts, even to those with different views. Fonda emphasized the need for the Hollywood community to fight for their beliefs.
“This is big-time serious, folks, so let’s be brave,” she said. “We must not isolate. We must stay in community.
SAG-AFTRA NED & Chief Negotiator @DuncanCI welcomes the audience to the #SagAwards shouting out the brave individuals on the front lines of the LA fires, including our broadcast journalist #SagAftraMembers pic.twitter.com/nGc0sXQ0SJ
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) February 24, 2025
Fonda calls for empathy, activism
We must help the vulnerable. We must find ways to project an inspiring vision of the future.”
Another round of applause for @shogunfx and @zoesaldana for their #SAGAwards wins! ???????????? pic.twitter.com/q29adpAzZE
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) February 24, 2025
The actor also expressed her support for unions, saying they give workers power and community.
Fonda noted that her film career began at the end of the McCarthy era, when many careers were destroyed, but Hollywood resisted. Fonda has been nominated for four SAG Awards but has never won. She has received two Oscars, an Emmy, seven Golden Globes, and several lifetime achievement awards over her six-decade career.
The actor’s activism in the 1970s, particularly her involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement, made her a controversial figure. In recent years, Fonda has focused on raising awareness about climate change and has been critical of President Trump’s policies. When Fonda was announced as this year’s SAG Life Achievement Award recipient, she said she was “honored and humbled” to receive the honor from her peers.
She joins a distinguished group of past recipients, including Barbra Streisand, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Carol Burnett.
