Jane Fonda is getting even deeper into the family business. The actress and activist has announced the relaunch of the Committee for the First Amendment, a free speech group founded after World War II that once included her father, actor Henry Fonda.
The revived Committee has already secured the support of more than 550 actors and other A-listers, including Spike Lee, Aaron Sorkin, Ben Stiller, Pedro Pascal, Viola Davis, Billie Eilish, Kerry Washington, Natalie Portman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Judd Apatow, Barbra Streisand, and Ethan Hawke.
In a statement, Fonda said that the group’s return was inspired by the eerily similar nature of 1950s McCarthyism (a campaign by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy to needlessly root out elements of Communism across Hollywood) and today’s sharp rise in authoritarian politics led by President Donald Trump.
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“The McCarthy Era ended when Americans from across the political spectrum finally came together and stood up for the principles in the Constitution against the forces of repression,” Fonda said. “Those forces have returned. And it is our turn to stand together in defense of our constitutional rights.”
Fonda went on to say that free speech is fundamental to both the work of Hollywood and the lifeblood of all free and democratic nations.
“We refuse to stand by and let that happen,” Fonda said. “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.”
As noted, the original Committee for the First Amendment came together in September 1947 — just in time for the hearings by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). More specifically, the collective — which included stars like Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Richard Conte, and Lucille Ball — was supporting the Hollywood Ten, a group of writers, actors, attorneys, and other members of Hollywood that had been blacklisted through McCarthy’s targeted efforts.
However, Otto Friedrich wrote in his book City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940’s that the group’s involvement in the HUAC proceedings was ultimately fruitless, and membership even caused problems for certain members down the road.
Still, let’s hope the overall tone and sense of public support are just different enough this time around to make a difference. The scope of our own anti-authoritarian ails is certainly removed enough from the scourge of McCarthyism in some rather important ways. Namely, this latest Committee was undoubtedly inspired by the recent controversy surrounding Jimmy Kimmel Live!
If you’re somehow behind on that whole saga, the late night show was pulled off the air after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issued a strong warning to ABC over seemingly anodyne comments Kimmel made about the death of Charlie Kirk.
Fortunately, Kimmel returned to the air just nine days after his suspension. It seems as if a passionate public outcry, including support from stars like Tom Hanks and Howard Stern, had the intended effect.