Jane Fonda reboots Committee for the First Amendment: Artists must 'speak out before it's too late'

Nearly 80 years after her father helped form the Committee for the First Amendment during the McCarthy era, Jane Fonda is relaunching the group, saying artists must "speak out before it's too late."

More than 600 entertainment industry figures — including Barbra Streisand, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee, Natalie Portman, Sean Penn and Pedro Pascal — have signed on to Fonda's effort, launched Wednesday.

In a statement, the Committee detailed its history, saying it was created in the 1940s, a "dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs." Henry Fonda was one of the Hollywood actors to join and support the group.

"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," the statement said.

But now in the Trump era, Fonda's group said, "Those forces have returned. And it is our turn to stand together in defense of our constitutional rights."

"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," she continued.

The move to relaunch the committee followed Jimmy Kimmel's return to his ABC late-night TV show last month, after the network pulled him from its airwaves over criticism of the comedian's remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. ABC's decision came after Brendan Carr, Trump's Federal Communications Commission chair, ripped the late-night host over the Kirk remarks and suggested he be punished by the network or its local affiliates. 

In a letter encouraging her colleagues in the entertainment industry to join the committee, Fonda wrote, "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."

"When I feel scared, I look to history," the "Klute" star, a prominent anti-Vietnam War activist during the 1970s, wrote.

"The only thing that has ever worked — time and time again — is solidarity: binding together, finding bravery in numbers too big to ignore, and standing up for one another," Fonda, a critic of President Trump who in 2022 launched a climate-focused PAC, said. 

Some of the many stars to sign on to the Committee include: Viola Davis, Anne Hathaway, Aaron Sorkin, Ben Stiller, Ethan Hawke, Kerry Washington, Billy Crystal, Billie Eillish, Julianne Moore, Rosie O'Donnell, Annette Bening, John Legend, Issa Rae, Glenn Close, Gracie Abrams, Adam McKay, Janelle Monae, Quinta Brunson, Rob Reiner and Anjelica Huston, among others. 

"They’re betting on our fear and our silence," Fonda said in the note to her peers.

"We face a powerful assault today, but we still have our voices, each other, and the freedom to express ourselves," she continued. "Let’s speak out before it’s too late."

In the statement featured on its website, the committee said the group's members will "stand together — fiercely united — to defend free speech and expression from this assault."

"This is not a partisan issue. That is why we urge every American who cares about the First Amendment—the cornerstone of our democracy—and every artist around the globe who looks to the United States as a beacon of freedom to join us."

"And 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," the statement said. "This will not be the last you hear from us."