Jane Fonda has been an ally of the LGBTQ community long before it was considered cool, and this resurfaced interview from 1979 shows just how outspoken she really was.
In the clip, which has gone viral after it popped up on Twitter, Fonda is interviewed during San Francisco’s White Nights Riots, sparked by the murder of Harvey Milk.
The interviewer asks her if gay people face discrimination, to which she replies:
“Absolutely. Culturally, psychologically, economically, politically, gays and lesbians are discriminated against.”
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And when asked if she feels like her organization, the Campaign for Economic Democracy, was being “used” by the gay community, she unflinchingly responds:
“I hope they use me. What am I here for if not to be used by good people for good things? I’m part of an organization and you could also be cynical as you are and ask me, ‘Isn’t the organization using me?’”
She continued: “But you could also think, ‘Aren’t I using the organization just the way the gays and lesbians here are using the organization they’re a part of if it helps give us perspective, helps us keep our values intact, it increases our power – because as individuals we don’t have very much, but altogether, we have a lot of power.’”
“Everybody uses,” she says later in the interview. “The point is what are you using for if it’s just for greed or selfish reasons? That’s one thing. But if you’re using each other for things that are positive, then why not?”
The clip was posted along with the caption: “Jane Fonda was saying this in the 70s while some celebrities only manage to say ‘gay rights’ today.” It’s received nearly 200K likes and over 50K reshares at the time of this post.
It’s now racked up over 3.3 million views — why not make it a few more?
jane fonda was saying this in the 70s while some celebrities only manage to say "gay rights" today pic.twitter.com/qsGQlAeepK
— milena (@sarahsbian) September 9, 2020
LifeCoachInfluencer
I love Jane Fonda but I’ll also welcome anyone who becomes an ally late in life. (This is in reference to the Twitter user saying “jane fonda was saying this in the 70s while some celebrities only manage to say “gay rights” today”) If they are sincere and not just trying to be PC, why not?
Den
What amazes me is how the right still refers to her as “Hanoi Jane,” even now when history has clearly demonstrated that the Vietnam War was a mistake, and Vietnam is an economic ally. The right has always been, and remains, intellectually ossified, and all too often on the wrong side of history.
michael_totzke
I’ve always loved Jane … & I always will. I’m Canadian. Gee, I wonder: do some Americans – specifically, Muricans – not care for her ??? (ha ha ha ha ha)
frapachino
Why are Canadians so envious of Americans?
DarkZephyr
@frapachino
Girl, not a word was uttered in his post that indicated that he was envious of any American. And at this point in time with who we have in the White House and what’s going on in this country, there isn’t anything much to envy.
Den
Sorry “frap” (or is that fap?) your imagination is not reality…ever. That is the failing of all you regressive minded children. Cannot differentiate between myth, imagination and real life.
whatsaywhat
@frappachino – They aren’t. At all. :/
Cam
1. @frapachino, IT’s nice when a Troll account knows it can’t attack anything in post so tries to deflect the thread. Thanks for admitting that.
2. Let’s pretend your tweet was relevant. Funny how the only people claiming Canadians are jealous of America are right wing Americans, not Canadians.
dhmonarch89
the 70s was pretty liberal- Jimmy Carter came out in favor of gay rights during 1976 campaign stop in LA when asked about prop 2- which called for the firing of gay/lesbian teachers…(Obama wouldn’t support gay marriage on campaign trail in 2008)…the 80s is when it all crashed and burned with Regan, the moral majority and AIDS…if things had continued to progress naturally from the 70s- we’d be about 20 years ahead. Jane’s ALWAYS been on the side for right- occasionally she takes a misstep, but she’s usually right!
DuMaurier
I’m not sure, but I think you’re mixing up this Proposition “2” (there may have been more than one regarding gay teachers) with Proposition 6 in ’78, which Carter did oppose, along with Ronald Reagan and other public figures across the ideological board, in a way that probably wouldn’t happen today.
Kangol2
I think you rewrote history several times in that comment but just as a reminder Obama supported same-sex marriage when he was a Illinois state senator, representing Chicago’s South Side, before he was elected to the US Senate. So he was for before he was against it before he was for it–and then saw gay marriage because the law of the land, with his and his administration fullest support.
hayesj
Jane Fonda is a courageous and awesome human. She is a hero to me
frapachino
Unfortunately there’s that other side of her you know the one that supported the communist Khmer Rouge over our own soldiers!
Charlie in Charge
You don’t think there is anything messy or complicated about our efforts in Vietnam?
Den
Frap is seriously regressive-minded. They cannot understand anything either complex or nuanced. Everything must be reduced to a childish simplicity…black and white, no shades of grey ever. And no lie believed can ever be expunged from their minds.
whatsaywhat
According to your fuhrer, the Americans that died in Vietnam were a bunch of losers and suckers. So please spare us the pantomime patriotism.
Paulie P
she was against the government and the 10 years of war not the soldiers and that has been explained numerous times….but people believe what they want to believe.. and she is and has been one of the most vocal celebrities on many different subjects. and at 82 she got arrested every friday trying to convince washington that climate change is real and we have a short time left… i hear no one else doing that… no one high ranking elected official.
Cam
You mean when she spoke out against the Viet-Nam war, which now even Republicans say was a mistake?
But no surprise, the right wing trolls will ALWAYS attack anybody who defends LGBTQ rights, and but will always defend anti-LGBTQ bigots.
Kangol2
Jane Fonda’s vocal opposition to the Vietnam War is complicated. On the whole her opposition to the Vietnam War has proved to be right, especially given that GOP president Nixon and that vile Henry Kissinger artificially extended in 1968-9 what turned out to be losing disaster that involved not only Vietnam but Cambodia (which Nixon bombed) and Laos, with countless dead and injured US troops, hundreds of thousands of Southeast Asians killed or maimed, etc. It was a terrible, unnecessary war and time has shown that it should never have been waged. That is no knock on the soldiers, but on the architects of the war, both Democratic and Republican.
However, and it pains me to have to agree with Faps, but Jane Fonda DID praise the rule of the Khmer Rouge, one of the most murderous dictatorships short of Hitler or Stalin. I believe she has apologized for her past comments and actions on behalf of the Vietcong and even visited Vietnam, but I am not sure if she has ever fully accounted for having supported Pol Pot, who, if you want to read about what real mass murderous horror truly looks like, gave the world one of the worst examples of all time. I say this as someone who loves Jane Fonda as an actress and supports most of her political stances. She has been an activist for 50+ years, but even the best sometimes make major errors.
malerntogo
Jane has always been a defender of Gay Rights and equality. We should all be grateful and give her our support.
Side note: did anyone else notice she looked like she was on coke? Watch her eyes. No judgement, almost everyone was in 1979, myself included.
Regardless, she is and always be, a strong beautiful woman!
CityguyUSA
Good answer.
JessPH
As if we need more reason to stan Ms Jane Fonda. Legendary actress. Humanitarian. Activist. I admire her just as much as I admire another iconic actress and ally, Dame Elizabeth Taylor.
rocknstan
1.) Compare and contrast Madonna with Jane Fonda.
2.) Consider the manner in which, at one time, gay rights were ghetto-ized in just one city.
John
Jane Fonda is an amazing human. I admire her using her celebrity for good and what she believes in. I thank her for all the good she has done in the World. On a separate note, there is no finer actress. Viva Jane Fonda!