ONE FAIR WAGE IN MICHIGAN

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Before this Sundays Emmys, Lily and I spent the week in Michigan with activists working to advance the One Fair Wage Campaign. I hope you will take the time to learn more about our efforts by visiting the website www.onefairwage.com

Here are articles and video from a great week:

FOX 2 DETROIT:
http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/fox-2s-one-on-one-with-jane-fonda-lily-tomlin-on-minimum-wage

fox2 FOX 2’s one-on-one with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin on minimum wage
A pair of legendary Hollywood actresses visiting Michigan this week to promote a ballot proposal that would change Michigan’s minimum wage system.



THE WOMENS MEDIA CENTER:
http://www.womensmediacenter.com/news-features/jane-fonda-and-lily-tomlin-call-out-subpar-wages-for-women-workers

lily-jane-detroitJane Fonda and Lily Tomlin call out subpar wages for women workers
Fast food workers put a national movement called the Fight for $15 on the map in November 2012 when they walked out of chain restaurants across New York City to …

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  1. This is amazing! I watched your movie “The Dollmaker” last night and was thinking about the disparity of desperate people, the middle class, Flint, and people who struggle to get by. I love that you work with the platforms you have for change. I hope to follow in your footsteps. Keep up the great work!

  2. Thank you for coming to Detroit to spread awareness about such an important issue. I was fortunate enough to meet Lily at the Detroit Homecoming. It’s so great to have such two empowered women to look up to. I can only hope to match your efforts one day. Take care!

  3. It’s amazing that in 2017 we’re still having to fight this! I applaud you and Lily

  4. Hi Jane,

    This problem exists everywhere. I live in PA. I am an Executive Assistant with 30 years of experience. I find that at 58 it is VERY HARD to get a job. While they cannot ask you your age, they can ask you when you graduated high school or college and then they do the math! I’ve been unemployed since Memorial Day this year. I find wages are very low. Additionally, large companies are hiring more and more contractors (temporaries) because they don’t have to pay benefits. Additionally, they’d prefer to lay off workers with 30 years of experience (and higher salaries) in favor of junior level employees who they can pay less. While the orange guy keeps saying there are so many jobs, those jobs are extremely low paying.

  5. What an a honor and thrill it was to meet you at the poor peoples campaign meeting tonight… Especially the flash of friendly recognition in your eyes when I said my name and that you might know of me from janefonda.com
    Terrific event!
    Edward

  6. It is so moving to me that you and Lily are reaching out to low wage workers. My Dad whose birthday was this week, was a Trade Unionist targeted during the McCarthy Era that forced our family to move West for work. The huge income disparities of today with all the wealth going to wealthy is not making America great. We need to bring back strong unions so we can have strong working class again. Raising the minimum wage is the least we can do. It’s totally disgusting that people can work full time and have to go on food stamps. The businesses whose employees can’t make it on their “slave wages” ought to pay for the food stamps like so many Walmart employees. The Walton Family reaps $80 billion a year while the gov’t supplements their employees?. This has got to change and you and Lily are helping!!! THANK YOU….. The real mystery though is why so many workers vote against their own self interests by helping to elect R’s……You and Lily are such an inspiration to people of all ages!!!!

  7. Too bad I can’t post time charts that prove raising the minimum wage increased GDP growth and lowered the unemployment rate.

  8. This is in my script, darn it. It’s so relevant. Ah well, I’m in WA state. Voted for the $15 an hour wage. Always vote for women. Gregoire, Murray, Cantwell, women judges, I may not agree with every thing they believe, but mostly we are on the same page. Supported them financially. And now Onward Together with Hilliary. I love that you and Lily are still leading, still pushing, still holding up the lantern. Thanks. Dona

  9. Jane you look absolutely gorgeous… I’ve always appreciated your talent as an actor and your beauty. A wonderfully attractive female indeed. I was also very taken by your political activism. For me you were the full package. I sent a post to you a few weeks ago asking if you felt the situation in the Korean Peninsula was reaching critical. Jane, do you feel (as I do) that the bellicosity and belligerent words and attitude of DT will result in a nuclear confrontation in the Peninsula? DT may be playing to the gallery but Kim Yong Un is deadly serious. The repercussions of an American onslaught on North Korea could so easily escalate into a world-wide nuclear holocaust

    • Thank you, Pablo, and yes, I am really worried. All the experts on Korea say that Trump is doing the opposite of what could diffuse the situation and that Kim isn’t someone who takes bullying well.Aside from what this conflict would do in terms of damage, we mustn’t forget that war causes the price of oil to go up and look at all those in the Trump administration who would vastly benefit from that–the rest of the world be damned.

  10. Thank you for once again coming to Michigan. You are an excellent speaker who inspires many. I am all for the minimum wage going up, including those working off of tips. I hope, though, that the tipped employees continue to receive tips on top of the minimum wage. I saw that you were in Michigan, but unfortunately all of the public events were during the daytime. It only being the second week of school, I was not able to take any time off from work. Next time!
    I loved seeing you, Lily, and Dolly together at the Emmy Awards! How fun! You must be exhausted! Filming . . . The Venice Film Festival . . . Events in Michigan . . . Primetime Emmy Awards . . . Whew! I’m impressed! You are the Energizer Bunny!

  11. Ms. Fonda:

    Burning the midnight (make that five a.m.) oil here. After my nightly writing session, I lay down to go to bed and found myself wide awake. I turned on the TV, in the hope I could relax and decelerate my thoughts. I watched a bit of news so I could catch up on what’s happening in the world (beaming my best thoughts and hopes to those now suffering and struggling in Mexico and Puerto Rico), and then, saw that Klute was being broadcast on TCM. It doesn’t matter that I’ve watched and studied the film dozens of times (as well doing the same with the screenplay): I had to turn it on.
    As I lay there watching the film, I was struck by something: How one knows when he or she is observing art at its best.
    In this case, I am referring to performance (although writing, direction, and lighting also certainly play a part). Namely, yours. Art at its best is about so much more than being entertained; it is also about being informed.
    And this, to me, is the principal job of an artist: to offer viewers (and readers) a window into another world, one where the characters’ perspectives may be dissimilar to their own. In accomplishing this (as you have done time and again, and as you certainly did with Bree Daniels), an artist presents to others an opportunity to think, discern–and most of all–to feel. It engages our ability to empathize, and in doing that, makes us not feel alone.
    Ironic though it was, the scene I came upon when I turned the channel was the one in which we observe Bree in conversation with her therapist, and Bree (I realized) was revealing to her therapist–and, by extension, to us–the central conundrum of which I just spoke: the feeling of being alone, the struggle we sometimes face with being authentic, and the ways in which we struggle, out of fear, to be in control of the situations in which we find ourselves.
    Which is all to say, with a film I have seen numerous times, there came to me (thanks largely to your performance) a greater sense of clarity as regards the species of which we are a part.
    Thank you for that.
    Also, I know you’ve said that Chelsea and Gertie were your favorites among the characters you have played (and I certainly don’t disagree; I, too, love them both), but there’s something about your performance as Bree that has stayed with me. It is, to me, one of the most natural, complex, and complete portrayals of a human being ever to have been captured on film. Your work in the film is so effortless and honest that it seemed as though you weren’t acting at all (though of course you were).
    How rare and wonderful it is when an artist bares something of her soul to others, and does it in a way that touches a human truth, and with a skill so pure that it allows no artifice to obscure it.
    Thank goodness Mr. Pakula wouldn’t let you say “no” to the role. I shudder to think what would not have been.
    As always, all my best to you and yours, and…
    Warmest regards,
    John
    P. S.–What a joy it was to see you, Lily, and Dolly together the other night (i.e., Emmy Awards). The words you three spoke could not have been truer…or more needed. Cheers to that and to all of you!
    J.

  12. I don’t Tweet. I just now read the tweets posted in regards to the Emmy night posting. I obviously missed the comments that you made regarding the President, but I’ve no doubt I would have agreed with whatever you said. I don’t know how you have managed to survive the hate mail. I’ve been watching Ken Burns’ Vietnam wondering about all those who have called you names. I bet they don’t even watch this epic series. They couldn’t possibly allow themselves the opportunity to gather information that might cause them to think differently than they have for all these years. I watched Cavet’s Vietnam last night just to hear what you said. You said it so well. The journey from believing the myth and lies of the Presidency to taking in information so you not only learn the truth but have the courage to change your old thinking, then accept the responsibility of saying it out for the world to hear. You’ve been living with the consequences of that act for so long, but even more, you haven’t stopped your truth telling. I couldn’t admire or love you more than right now in the heat of all this hate and ignorance that is thrown at you. I’m sending you a hug. Love, Dona

    • Thanks Dona. Your words make me very happy. xx

  13. Thank you once again Jane Fonda for using your celebrity status for the good of the people. You are a lovely and caring woman. We need people who have a platform to speak out !! We are in deep, deep trouble and I’m truly scared.

  14. Why, every time I write something it says “your comment is awaiting moderation” and when I try to cut it, it doesn’t take my “delete” or changes. Anyway, I just want to acknowledge that 9/22 marked the one year anniversary of our incredibly serendipitous encounter 3 blocks from my property. What a year…..After the numbing shock of the election, last Spring, one of your comments on that fateful day, has haunted me. Unrelated to you, my life here had become pointless and difficult. Though my health is excellent, I’ve been struggling with environmental event for almost three years, that indicates I “should” leave here. Your comment which I knew at the time would never happen but was extremely kind “if I lived in your neighborhood I’d be your friend” has reversed in my head. That is, what if I lived in your neighborhood? Though I still work part time here, I gave up the major part of my income producing work. I never thought I would be 75 and feel so energetic and pain free. (I’ve studied nutrition and herbal medicine for a long time). I think I could be helpful and would like to be your neighbor and friend i.e. I’d move closer to you in a heartbeat. (Surely this note needs moderation, too.) What do you think?. Be well, alma

  15. This is directed to Alma C.’s post on 9/23/17. Miss Fonda has indicated that she wants a dialogue between posters as well as with herself so I am responding to your post although it was personally directed to her.
    I wanted to respond to your question about the moderation because I am rather new to this and also wondered about the “moderation”. I thought perhaps it was directed at the length or amount of words as I am very “wordy.” But I think it is a matter of protection against toxic messages that could be hurtful to others. This is a very responsible protection which I respect.
    I have learned that the word on paper even carefully constructed can be easily misread to be harmfully meant. That’s what happens without facial, body language and voice inflection. I have had one of my posts withheld although it was not meant to be harmful, it could have been read that way. After sleeping on it, I went to edit it and found that I could not. If there is a way I just haven’t figured it out. Which means I better write, sleep, then post.
    I do wish there were instructions to newcomers; what are the guidelines? What is the moderator looking for? Is there a way for us to edit our material? Or to delete it and start over? I see there is a way to delete it from our history but not from being posted.
    Lastly, there have been times I wanted to weigh in on current events with my views on racism/sexism in America, but a post can wait for weeks in moderation which takes all the sense of conversation out of it. I find that a disincentive.
    Cordially meant, Dona

  16. This is again in response to post on 9/23/17 by Alma C.
    Alma, I am definitely trespassing now into personal territory. I hope either you will forgive me or that the moderator will decide to withhold this post if it is off limits.
    When I meet a soul that I recognize as a friend of my heart, but the timing in this lifetime does not provide the space, time or energy for that friendship to be nurtured into this reality, this is what I do; I accept that I am her/his friend no matter where I live, no matter where she/he lives; I know that if called upon I would respond in the same way as I would for any of my other 50+ year friends, but I accept this lifetime’s limits and wish her well.
    If there is a way that I can be supportive from a distance that is not intrusive or doesn’t make promises I cannot keep then, I try to give what I can. That may just mean something simple like a birthday card, a note on a blog, or giving attention to their causes or creative efforts. I keep my heart open, but I let go.
    One more thing that I do for myself that may just be pacification for my sense of loss, I tell myself that maybe between lifetimes, our souls will plan to meet in the next lifetime and create the camaraderie that we didn’t get to have in this lifetime. Now, often the people I feel this way for may be atheists, or of a religion that wouldn’t accept this possibility so I usually keep it to myself.
    Just one more thought, if all the people who would like to be Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and herJane (Wagner) friends and who would also be willing to move close to them, did so, the San Andreas fault probably couldn’t stand the strain. I would love to be among Lily and herJane’s community of friends, but their lives are full of friends and activities galore. I would move with expectations or hopes for time that is already well-spent.
    You sound like a person who indeed has riches to share and you can do that anywhere, even from where you are. Best Wishes, Dona

  17. Hi Jane
    Tried to give you my adress twice, as you requested. But both times it didn’t pass moderation. Very disappointed… you were going to send me your signed picture because i tried to send them to you 3 times with no success.
    Well, i guess i’ll have to settle for the way things are.
    All the best
    Your greatest admirer.
    Isabel xxx

    • I just don’t get why your address didn’t come through. So very sorry

  18. This is my favorite part about so many wonderful things about you Jane. Your activism. I’ve been a fan since well Barefoot in the Park! The best part is now my daughter and my niece love your movies and Grace and Frankie and I can share them with you. I just sent your autobiography to my 21 year old niece and she was thrilled. I remember watching Electric Horseman over and over and over back in the day because I love horses and you and Robert. Today I curled up with hot cider and “Our Souls At Night” what a great movie. Fortunately, I’ve been with my beloved for 27 years now but it did make me appreciate that and snuggle in again. Thanks Jane…for everything.

  19. Hi Jane, So happy to be going to see you at the Graham Norton event at the Savoy Theatre in London next weekend. I don’t know if you’ll be there for a few days and will be bringing your family, but if you have time remember to visit the museums, which are all FREE in the UK! The V&A (Victoria and Albert was voted best museum in 2016). Next door to that is the natural history museum. Also worth a visit. Have a good trip and see you in London.
    Take care
    Jason

    • And see me you did, Jason. I was so pleased you came.

  20. Hello Jane,

    i once came along your interview with Barbara Walters where you mentioned never to have heard your father praise you as a wonderful actress. A couple of days ago i found a interview with the great Henry Fonda in 1975 talking about you:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfc-ekWsJXc
    I hope you enjoy it and have a great day.

    P.S. just saw Our Souls at Night, Ms Fonda – you are radiant and better than ever.

    Cheers to you, Marko

  21. Hi Ms Jane Fonda… Its 10/13/17 about midnight. i was sitting here watching Christian TV and you popped in my mind. I dont really know why, but it must be GOD. I was wondering how is your walk with GOD? Im kinda used to these interjections by the Holy Spirit and know when its GOD and not just me. I hope you are well, and Pray your love for Christ remains. For these are indeed the Ladt Days…your Brother in CHRIST. SIR

  22. To the moderator;
    I’m going to do a series of posts regarding thoughts and positions that you may or may not want to post. Either way doesn’t matter. My intent is to have Jane get to know where I stand on some issues. It may or may not attract comment from others. She said she wanted a dialogue, so…

  23. I find that after watching Ken Burns Vietnam and coupled with the tweets on Jane’s blog which were so hateful toward her, I am ruminating about that event and its effects. The divide we had then, the divide we have now, is so debilitating to the country. But often we don’t even realize what has pushed our buttons. Because I am a Jane Fonda fan, I listened carefully to hear what she did say and what one soldier, Musgrave, said was the reason they hated Jane more than any others “who said the same things.”
    Musgrave said the reason they went after Jane was that she was their pin-up girl. They ‘fantasied’ about her. Jane was right about the legalities of and the morality of our position. We shouldn’t have been there. We weren’t there for the reasons the leadership professed. But her mistake was who to blame. She pointed to those who were following orders not just those who gave the orders. It was the same mistake many protesters made. But she apologized for that error. Nixon didn’t apologize neither did LBJ and they were the ones who made the war happen. The deaths were on them. No one labeled them for life as Napalm Nixon or Agent Orange LBJ. Why? Because neither was a woman who was used and seen as a sex object. How dare she have a point of view. How dare she speak out as a citizen and not just stay a Barbie Doll of their fantasies. Sexism labeled Jane. Sexism is rampant in this country, but like racism, and ageism we are blind to it. We think none of this matters unless it touches us. It saturates us, but we are oblivious to it. Unless we can see our prejudice, recognize it, we are easily led by the nose to the slaughter.

  24. I love Oscars night! My friends know better than to call because I won’t answer the phone for however long it takes to view until the credits roll is over. Getting song and dance and jokes and pageantry, standing ovations along with seeing movie star legends and newcomers is a cornucopia of the best entertainment. Like so many I try to see all the nominations so I can choose who to root for by my own guideline. Not to brag but I’m really good at picking the Golden Globe winners, but the Oscars can be tricky. But, I usually get them right too.
    For me, best of all are the acceptance speeches. I love to hear movie stars in their own words say whatever they have to say. Some of the best, for me, were Tom Hanks winning for Philadelphia, Meryl Streep, just recently, telling truth to power, and Viola Davis with so much heart. They were eloquent and inspirational. No masks. And yes, I like that they use their platform to speak up for values and ideals that should matter to all of us.
    I have a problem with those who want to restrict the rights of citizens to speak just because they want to keep a person in a role as if it is okay for baker, a barber, a mason to say his/her peace but not if you are an entertainer/ movie star. Most of us were citizens first before we developed a craft, but those who came later still have earned their right to free speech with all other citizens. If I were there and could speak as a fan, I would say thank you citizens. Keep speaking up and shining your light. We need you to keep doing that even when the music tries to drown you out.

  25. I have a problem with citizens who wave the flag, but don’t participate in their civic responsibilities such as voting. I have no problem with citizens who demonstrate by challenging symbols of this country by bending a knee and not standing for a flag or a song.
    It’s mind bending to think that women in a country that has its first elections will stand for many hours in line to vote knowing that they may be shot while standing there or beaten later at home. Compare that to the majority of our American citizens who won’t fill out a ballot at home and drop it in a box. The voting percentages of other countries struggling for freedom compared to ours is just shaming.
    I remember Watts burning. That we have a euphemism “driving while black, “says so much. It’s even worse because it is a reality. It’s not just that it is so wrong that a man of Dr. Louis Gates character can be accosted for trying to get into his own house, it is also horribly wrong that a young black man (wearing any kind of clothing even a hoodie), can be fearful of being shot because he walks through an upper-crust community. The percentage of black men in jail per ratio to white is an obscenity. There is much wrong here in America. In response to America Love it or Leave it, I always said, America love it enough to fix it. So please, bend your knee, speak out on any platform you have. I’d get down on that field and bend mine if I could. It’s better than burning and breaking and senseless killing any day

  26. Thanks for this activism. Both on the one fair minimum wage and wages for women. There are latent prejudices in all of us and we need to have them exposed to correct.

    Anecdotally, we work with many homeless individuals (mostly women in shelters) and there are a few chain restaurants in the area (Waffle House is one) that pay roughly $2-3 an hour and expect the people to make up the rest in tips. This is patently unfair (especially if one works a slow shift). It’s a mess. And, it predominantly hurts women who are working more of those wait staff jobs than many men.

    Prayers for your continued health and work. Blessings and peace.

    • I should add, that these restaurants (and other businesses) prey on people who are down on their luck, desperate for a job, and use them up – many struggle to maintain a job because they are way underpaid in a lousy work environment in poor areas where there aren’t many tips. For the larger chains, it is all about this quarter’s profits and stock prices of the food conglomerate owning them. It’s really the conglomerate that should be held to account for such injustice.

  27. Moderator, this is my last post.
    Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes jumps to mind almost every day now. So many people are trying to explain Trump; trying to inform or direct him away from his disastrous impulsiviity. I’ve intimately known people who were so ego-vulnerable that they could never admit a mistake, a wrong-doing, any ignorance and certainly, they could never apologize. I thought at the time that they couldn’t help but know the truth of their actions even if they couldn’t admit it. Then, I realized that, NO, there are some who even presented with scientific evidence couldn’t recognize the truth. I realized that for some the phrase, there is no “there” there, rings true. A third year old cannot conceptualize what a thirteen or thirty-year-old can, so there is no blame in that. Age does not always bring wisdom.
    In the story, the Emperor can accept the truth when finally, a child tells him that he is naked. All the adults around him were too afraid to tell the truth. If he hadn’t been so vain-glorious he would have known it for himself, but in this tale, he is able to accept this information from the child. Not so in today’s version.
    It’s not that Trump is such a horrible human being, there are many on their journey at the same level. Never will we all be on the same page. That’s okay. Talk about the wonderful variety of diversity, it is true for our level of awareness as well. What is so very upsetting is this equation; Vain-glorious, Ambitious, vacuous-thinking, man PLUS the power of leader, but fractured, nation, PLUS, world in flux, PLUS a fragile planet with time-running out EQUALS the Perfect Storm.

  28. Dear Jane, Our Souls At Night is heartwarming. Loved it. Thank you so much. Hugs, CM

  29. Jane, I POSTED IT as you told me in no uncertain terms <3!!! In fact, all our pictures, it's on my twitter ( @dinasztie13 is my username if you want to see them) and instagram ( @dinasztie but those are the same). My friends and acquaintances went totally crazy… some begged me to tell them it’s photoshop, they were so jealous ahahaha.

    Anyway, our meeting was… perfect and even better than I could have imagined. I will collect my thoughts on your next post (I can be somewhat more objective about it). I love you, you’re a great person. I got three selfies, two hugs and a loving and warm minute that I wouldn’t trade for anything. It was like a meeting a pen friend of several years… wait, IT WAS ACTUALLY JUST THAT. <3 I hope you liked me, too. See you next time. 🙂

    And I DO hope you guys do Grace and Frankie for a long time, because on season 8, I totally plan to play Vlad, the Frances McDormand-level grumpy OR Betty White-level optimistic Romanian nurse that Frankie hires to care for Grace after a hip surgery and whose relationship with Grace has a rocky start and then they become BFFs, which makes her review her Republican views (I bet Grace is one) and then she saves him from deportation in a huge, funny/emotional Emmy-monologue ahahaha. Don't do this idea without me lol!

    • Thanks, Daniel. it really blew my mind when you identified yourself!!!! I like you too xxx

  30. Lily and Jane starring in “What servers would say..” WHAT FUN! Loved it.
    I wrote this differently, but I had three to work with.( Moderator can delete this.)

  31. I read your book twice, and now I know exactly what I want but that means chage my today whole life. A single question: Where I grab the strength to do it?

    • If you want it bad enough you’ll find the strength

      • I already started until now everything is fine thank you very much. Love

      • Bit by bit things have been changing, I think the change is due to my attitude, I’m learning to say no, sometimes things get easy, sometimes difficult, thanks for the inspiration this is a work in construction , I keep praying for you, I hope that you feel well, I love you.

        • I had an Irish coffee and I have insomnia I found this comment by casuality God everything has improved so much thanks to you, 3 weeks together and alone showed it, I feel very good at his side very in love and safe, it is incredible how things can change so much by changing attitudes thank you very much for what you have done for me without knowing us.

  32. Hi Jane
    Here it goes again (my adress)

    Isabel Santos
    Rua do Zambeze 121 1E
    4250-504
    Porto Portugal

    Btw Jane, you were superb in “Our Souls at Night”. And the film is beautiful.

    Love
    Isabel xxx

  33. When I met you again last week in London I could not properly express my thank you for all you are doing, standing up for all the great causes and never giving up!
    I have always been a fan of your acting all through my life, but your book My Life So Far was so close to my heart, got to go to one of the book signings in New York in 2006 and got the audiobook too, so it feels like a conversation.
    The intimacy issues, bulimia, folding ourselves into a pretzel and all the other parts in the book are such universal issues and by you honestly talking about it helped us dealing with a lot of it, that we are not alone!
    When I met you again 11 years later last weekend I was speechless, I wanted to say so much, but all I could say is a Thank You, but at least I got to say that! Thank You will all my heart!
    David

  34. Hi Jane,
    I read your blog but have never commented. You look beautiful and are a vibrant, smart woman..also, a great actress, which I’ve enjoyed many of your movies. I just wanted to say, in spite of how busy you are, I appreciate that you do take the time to respond to your blog viewers, and answer their questions. It shows that you care, and do read their comments. I read another blog, and questions are posted.. but she never responds ( initials MS). I think that’s sad, as she has many loyal viewers. Anyway, I just wanted to say how much I admire your interest in the viewers on here. Thank you, Jane, for your activism and your talent.

    • Hi Judy. Yes, I read my blogger friends’ comment and reply when I feel it’s needed. Sometimes I just read them but they become my friends. xxx

  35. Hi Jane! It is amazing the work you are doing for people in these states! I live in Canada and even at 15 while I was sweeping floors I was making $11/hour. That was just an after school job, I cannot imagine having to work those wages to survive on my own!

    By the way, can you believe trump lifted that ban on elephant hunting? What crock of bull that is! How is that going to solve any problems anywhere?!?

    Take care Jane xx

  36. Dear Ms. Fonda,

    About a month ago, I was lucky enough to meet you at the Savoy Theatre in London. It’s taken me all this time to finally get up the courage to post on your blog about it – after all, you might actually read this (unless you also read the card I left for you at the Meet & Greet? It had my twitter username – helenmirrens – and email address, haha)!

    I just wanted to thank you for coming to London and giving me (and so many others!) the opportunity to hear you talk about your life and meet you afterwards. I’ll never be able to put into words just how much those few seconds with you meant to me. For the past few years, I’ve barely left the house due to depression and anxiety, but when I read about the event with you that was going to happen the day after my birthday, I just knew I had to make the trip.

    I’m sure you don’t remember me (I can’t even remember what I said to you, I was so nervous), but being in your presence that night has been helping me get through even the worst of days ever since.
    I keep thinking about what you said, about “giving birth to yourself.” I think about it all the time, because I need to do that so desperately. I wish I knew how, I wish I could ask you for guidance. I’m so deeply unhappy with my life and myself, but you give me the strength to carry on every day, and I truly mean that. Thank you.

    I hope we’ll get the chance to meet again someday, so I can properly thank you for being the most beautiful inspiration – and maybe even ask for a hug! ♥

    Love, Jenni

    PS: I’m SO excited for the new season of Grace & Frankie!! 🙂

    • Thanks, Jenni. I’m not a big fan of throwing pills at every problem but, as your depression sounds serious, I recommend you see a psychopharmacologist. That is a doctor who will interview you and, if she/he feels it’s appropriate, will prescribe an anti-depressant. I take Prozac and it is a miracle. Some people find a different pill works better for them. Their are lots of them. It it’s the right one for you, the black cloud may life within weeks. But if you are bi-polar, Prozac may be counter-indicated. It’s worth a try and healthcare in England is so good. let me know. xx

      • Thanks so much for your caring and thoughtful reply, Jane. I live in Germany right now, where healthcare is excellent, so I’m able to see a wonderful therapist as well as a psychiatrist, who’s taking care of my medication. It’s a work in progress, and there’s still a long way to go, but I’m getting there. On my darkest days I think of you and how strong you are, despite everything you’ve been through, and it gives me so much hope. Thanks for being so open about your own struggles. Sending you so much love xx

  37. I liked the burns/novick brief treatment of your involvement in the anti-war activities.
    Of 1972 in their 10–part documentary of the vietnam war. I feel they documented the sexual phsyco-social aspects of the vehemence with which you were vilified
    in a way I have not seen. It has never made sense to me that these guys hated you, but not the misguided dumb people who conducted this fiasco of a war. I remember very well watching this all go down as a young person, and being utterly confused and dismayed.

    • Thanks for letting me know, Edward. I haven’t had a chnce to look at the doc yet but I will. xxx

  38. Dear Ms Jane Fonda,

    When I met you again last month in London I could not properly express my thank you for all you are doing, standing up for all the great causes and never giving up!
    I have always been a fan of your acting all through my life, but your book My Life So Far was so close to my heart, got to go to one of the book signings in New York in 2006 and got the audiobook too, so it feels like a conversation.
    The intimacy issues, bulimia, folding ourselves into a pretzel and all the other parts in the book are such universal issues and by you honestly talking about it helped us dealing with a lot of it, that we are not alone!
    When I met you again 11 years later last weekend I was speechless, I wanted to say so much, but all I could say is a Thank You, but at least I got to say that! Thank You will all my heart!
    David

  39. Hi Jane
    A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.
    Take care
    Jason

  40. Hi, Jane! I was wondering if you are familiar with Adrienne Rich’s essay “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence”? I came across this essay after realizing I was a lesbian, but I find that Rich skillfully explains the danger of compulsory heterosexuality in the lives of women who perceive themselves as heterosexual as well. When I was reading your autobiography, some of the ideas your mother taught you about catering to men reminded me of the essay, so I thought I would ask you about it.

    And, as long as I’m writing–thank you for being an inspiration for countless young women like myself.

    • Emily, I am not familiar with this article of Adrienne’s. Thanks for the heads up. xx

  41. To Jenni (her post on 11/17/17) regarding depression. If we had a beloved child who was diabetic and needed insulin to survive we would have no qualms about providing that medication. But if the child has a chemical imbalance which causes depression we don’t respond or support that child in the same way although the issue is the same. The stigma in our society gets in the way of our humanity to ourselves and one another. We should treat ourselves and each other as a beloved child.
    Even in cases of situation-ally caused depression medication can provide a window of opportunity for the person to have the dark curtain lifted long enough to see themselves as able to get through the situation. Hope is a necessary ingredient for recovery.
    Jane gave good advice. Find a Dr who knows meds. Be willing to try different meds to find the right fit for you. Then, give the med TIME to work. It’s not aspirin where you get rid of a headache in one day. Then with energy restored, if you can, add some form of exercise to get a natural lift from serotonin, reach out to build a supportive network. Discover that life is beautiful even with the sad stuff and you are an integral part of that beauty. Dona

  42. I watched “Our Souls at Night” again and totally reject my previous remarks. I think the well developed characters make balanced choices that seem to help everyone involved. As I thought about it more, I think my Feminist friends are misguided and Addy made the right choices….

  43. hey jane fonda. i give great thanks for you today. me and my wife ..also named jane, just finished watching your netflix series and movie with robert redford. great show great movie. we are hooked so keep em coming….
    also want to thank you for speaking up throughout your life. taking the heat and not letting them get the best of you. after watching the grace and frankie series, i researched you. i of course knew about the hanoi jane stuff. but i didnt really ever study your life as a whole. i am 52, i cant ever really remember not knowing who you were still i didn’t really learn until this past month what a huge hero you are.
    i cant stand the vietnam stuff. saturate bomb a country for a decade with deadly toxins and all we can muster is a self serving ken burns documentary. and we are still bombing foreigners all over the place as i write. no regrets, no shame, no knowledge.

    so i did some you tube today and god you are the greatest.

    much admiration from my mancave in brooklyn. rock on!

  44. Jane,
    I want to thank you, sincerely. As my husband teases me , as if I’m blinded by your image of fame,and I giggle at the thought, I cannot stop reading post after post along with the greatest of replies. I am inspired by the amazing support, education and humanity created. True and in action I am witnessing some pretty amazing impacts and healings occurring within this group of readers. For sometime I’ve explained to my husband, and, with a variety of ideas, how it was important that I find a way , not to change view points or to criticize difference, but to plant a seed of healing, confidence and well, whatever unique specialty in others or of others.I’ve been finding new ways to learn and exploring even more needs to educate myself in order to gain an ability to be credible. This wonderful group of your fans and your commitment to reach others has taught me that maybe I’m hiding from myself through my new needs to learn more. Your just putting yourself out there. And look at how well the impact s forming. I guess this has me seeing that the time for me to put things to action is now rather than later. You have somehow unjolted a view that I never noticed was holding me from going forward. Education is imperative and will continue . I don’t have to take what I’m given. I have to make what life is worth living. Life is a continuing challenge and has many variations of complications. Too many of us settling for underpaid skills, or suffering childhood traumas, etc. That suffering, when done alone is damaging. So thank you for all that you write. And thank you for putting yourself out there. Famous or not famous I hope that everyone who reads this comes to understand that we all can make the domino effect difference. I for one, am inspired from thought to action. I believe I can create more impact simply by being myself, following the “little things” my father taught me . Following my heart and not hiding behind the struggle, or explanation or even the belief that I need to learn before I act. I get it. We learn as we earn. If what we earn isn’t enough? It’s up to us to change it. We are in control and it’s the changes of better that has the most effect. In that we should all trust. One more thing i realize, is that this has turned a bit longer than the simple and short Thank You , I intended. HA! Just shows proof , that the simple and true , small acts, do hold a much more powerful meaning than we know how to express.HA!
    Keep on being you. And Thanks again. I’m about to move past the idea stage and into action. Finally! Feels good .Love To All xxx

    • Joanne, your email/blog post makes me very happy!! I believe in the importance of taking leaps of faith. Don’t wait till you have all the answers, they’ll come as you act. At least that’s been my experience. Go girl!!

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