INTERSECTIONALITY
'There'd be no climate crisis if it wasn't for racism,' Jane Fonda claims on talk show


by ZACHARY ROGERS | The National Desk

Thursday, January 26th 2023




In this video grab issued Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, by NBC, Jane Fonda accepts the Cecil B. deMille Award at the Golden Globe Awards. (NBC via AP)


WASHINGTON (TND) — Saying "everything’s connected," actress Jane Fonda blamed the "climate crisis" on "racism" during an appearance on "The Kelly Clarson Show" this week.

Fonda was on the talk show to promote her new movie "80 for Brady." She appeared alongside her new movie's co-stars: Sally Field, Lily Yomlin and Rita Moreno.

All four discussed what got them into social activism, and Fonda recalled the Vietnam War. Fonda was given the infamous nickname "Hanoi Jane" after she posed for a photo atop an anti-aircraft gun when she visited North Vietnam in 1972.
For me, it was learning about the Vietnam War,” Fonda recalled. “And when I really understood what that was about, I couldn’t not do anything except try to join the movement to stop it."

The show's host, American singer/songwriter Kelly Clarkson, then asked Fonda how she branched out from anti-Vietnam war activism to other causes. The famous actress responded by saying "everything's connected."

Well, you know, you can take anything... sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia... whatever... the war,” Fonda responded. “And if you really get into it, and study it and learn about it and the history of it and everything’s connected. There’d be no climate crisis if it wasn’t for racism.”

Rita Moreno asked Fonda to clarify what she meant. Fonda answered by claiming "they," as in the powers that be, pollute poorer countries and areas because those people don't fight back as hard as well-off people and communities.

Where would they put the s**t? Where would they put the poison and the pollution?" Fonda asked in response. "They’re not gonna put it in Bel Air. They’ve got to find some place where poor people or indigenous people or people of color are living. Put it there. They can’t fight back. And that’s why a big part of the climate movement now has to do with climate justice."

Fonda has been arrested multiple times for her roles in climate protests. She was famously arrested in October 2019 at a climate change rally on the Capitol steps in Washington D.C. and was charged with "crowding, obstructing or incommoding"

In September 2022, Fonda publicly announced she had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and had started chemotherapy treatments. She later announced that, thanks to her treatments, her cancer was in remission.

Fonda is a two-time Academy Award Winner for her roles in 1971's "Klute" and 1978's "Coming Home."

She's also famously known for her roles in 1977's "Fun With Dick and Jane" and 1968's "Barbarella."

Jane Fonda is a celebrated actress and has been awarded with several accolades over her career. Her newest film, "80 for Brady," hits theaters on February 3.