Jane Fonda is following in her Hollywood icon father’s footsteps to defend the First Amendment.
The 87-year-old actress and longtime activist has enlisted over 550 of her superstar peers to relaunch the Committee for the First Amendment at a time she calls “the most frightening moment of my life.”
“I’m 87 years old. I’ve seen war, repression, protest, and backlash. I’ve been celebrated, and I’ve been branded an enemy of the state. But I can tell you this: this is the most frightening moment of my life,” Fonda admitted in a letter shared with CNN, asking her peers to join the relaunched committee.
Arnold Turner/Getty; Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic; Neilson Barnard/Getty; Kevin Winter/Getty
She continued, “When I feel scared, I look to history. I wish there were a secret playbook with all the answers — but there never has been. That’s why I believe the time is now to relaunch the Committee for the First Amendment — the same Committee my father, Henry Fonda, joined with other artists during the McCarthy era, when so many were silenced or even imprisoned simply for their words and their craft.”
Fonda concluded her letter, saying, “The stakes are too high, and silence is too costly They’re betting on our fear and our silence. But our industry — and artists around the world — have a long history of refusing to be silenced, even in the darkest times.”
The original committee was first created by Henry Fonda in 1947 during the McCarthy era’s “Second Red Scare” — a period of growing fear about communist infiltration and Soviet Union influence in Washington, Hollywood, and beyond — in an effort to defend free speech and oppose government activity. At the time, the committee had icons like Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland as participants.
The committee was met with backlash for its suspected ties to the Communist Party, which many of its famous Hollywood members balked at.
Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty
This time around, the relaunched committee includes support from artists of all mediums, including filmmakers Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, J.J. Abrams, Patty Jenkins, Aaron Sorkin, and Judd Apatow; TV show creator Quinta Brunson; musicians Barbra Streisand, John Legend, Janelle Monáe, Gracie Abrams, and Billie Eilish; comedians Margaret Cho, Tiffany Haddish, and Nikki Glaser; as well as actors Lily Tomlin, Mandy Patinkin, Whoopi Goldberg, Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, Pedro Pascal, Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Susan Sarandon, and Ben Stiller.
“The federal government is once again engaged in a coordinated campaign to silence critics in the government, the media, the judiciary, academia, and the entertainment industry,” the committee wrote in a statement posted to its website on Wednesday. “We refuse to stand by and let that happen.”
The statement continued, “Free speech and free expression are the inalienable rights of every American of all backgrounds and political beliefs — no matter how liberal or conservative you may be. The ability to criticize, question, protest, and even mock those in power is foundational to what America has always aspired to be.”
The statement added, “We understand that this is a frightening and confusing moment for many people. We recognize that we represent just one group of many who are under threat right now… Americans of every walk of life are facing intimidation and censorship too — and we stand with them.”
Declaring that this isn’t a “partisan issue,” the statement concluded with a pointed callout to “those who profit from our work while threatening the livelihoods of everyday working people, bowing to government censorship, and cowering to brute intimidation. We see you and history will not forget. This will not be the last you hear from us.”
Fonda’s relaunch of the committee comes amid a dire state of American politics and, specifically, a tumultuous chapter in late-night television that has seen President Donald Trump publicly criticize hosts who have been vocal critics of his presidency.
Political discussions on late-night TV have been thrust into the spotlight since July, when CBS announced that The Late Show With Stephen Colbert would end in May 2026, several days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, for settling a lawsuit from Trump.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Soon after, ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live from the airwaves for six days after affiliate groups like Nexstar and Sinclair preempted the show, citing Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson. The move was suggested by FCC chair Brendan Carr, who also criticized Kimmel’s comments.
The decision led to a wave of backlash from notable figures in Hollywood, who all criticized the move as an attack on free speech. Conan O’Brien wrote that Kimmel’s suspension “should disturb everyone on the Right, Left, and Center,” while Bill Maher called out the network for remaining silent after pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live from the air. Several stars also moved to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions in solidarity with Kimmel’s firing.
