Jane Fonda’s Powerful SAG Speech Goes Viral After Addressing Politics

Jane Fonda made a powerful statement while accepting the SAG Life Achievement Award at the 31st annual SAG Awards on Sunday night.

The 87-year-old Hollywood icon received a standing ovation as she took the stage.

Jane Fonda is a two-time Oscar winner and the 60th recipient of the prestigious honor.

“This means the world to me,” she told the enthusiastic crowd as she took the stage. “Your enthusiasm makes it seem, I don’t know, less like a late twilight of my life and more like a go-girl kicka--. Which is good, because I’m not done!”

Fonda was introduced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus following a moving montage of her career highlights. The reel included clips from her Oscar-winning performances in "Klute" and "Coming Home," as well as fan-favorite roles in "9 to 5," "The China Syndrome," "The Newsroom," and more.

Reflecting on her decades-long career, Fonda acknowledged that her journey in Hollywood has been anything but conventional. “I had a really weird career,” she admitted, noting her 15-year retirement before making a major comeback at age 65. “I’m a late bloomer,” she joked.

The actress used her speech to champion unions and the collective power of workers, emphasizing how critical solidarity is in today’s world.

“They have all our backs, they bring us into community, and they give us power. Community means power, and this is really important right now when workers’ power is being attacked and community is being weakened,” she said.

Fonda also spoke about the role of actors in society, explaining that their job is to foster empathy. “SAG-AFTRA is different than most other unions because us, the workers, we don’t manufacture anything tangible. What we create is empathy,” she said.

“Our job is to understand another human being so profoundly that we can touch their souls," Fonda added, making it clear that empathy is not a sign of weakness. “It is not weak or woke, and by the way, woke just means you give a damn about other people."

Though she didn’t directly name names, Fonda made a pointed remark about the state of politics, warning that “a whole lot of people are going to be hurt by what is happening, what is coming our way.”

She urged people not to judge those with different political beliefs, instead calling for understanding and open-hearted dialogue.

Drawing from Hollywood’s history, she reminded the audience of the impact of McCarthyism in the 1950s and how the industry fought back against political persecution. “Hollywood resists,” the actress declared.

She then issued a call to action, saying, “We are in our documentary moment. This is it, and it’s not a rehearsal. This is it, and we mustn’t for a moment kid ourselves about what is happening. This is big time serious folks, so let’s be brave.”

As she wrapped up her speech, Fonda left the audience with a powerful plea:

“We must not isolate. We must stay in community. We must help the vulnerable. We must find ways to project an inspiring vision of the future, one that is beckoning, welcoming, that will help people believe that, to quote the novelist Pearl Cleage, ‘on the other side of the conflagration there will still be love, there will still be beauty, and there will be an ocean of truth for us to swim in.’ Let’s make it so.”

Fonda’s illustrious career spans over six decades, with two Academy Awards, an Emmy, and seven Golden Globes to her name. Her film credits include "They Shoot Horses," "Don’t They?," "On Golden Pond," and "80 for Brady," while her TV roles in "The Dollmaker," "The Newsroom," and "Grace and Frankie" cemented her status as a small-screen force.

Beyond Hollywood, she has been recognized for her lifelong activism and humanitarian efforts, with the Women in Film Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award named in her honor.