Actress Jane Fonda is arrested during the "Fire Drill Friday" Climate Change Protest on Oct. 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. John Lamparski / Getty Images
When you see an actor in handcuffs, they're usually filming a movie. But when Jane Fonda, Ted Danson, Sally Field, and other celebrities were arrested in Washington, D.C., last fall, the only cameras rolling were from the news media.
<p>"When you're famous, there's a real responsibility to use that celebrity in the best possible way you can," Jane Fonda says.<em></em></p>
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/12814376/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe><p>She began leading weekly demonstrations called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.janefonda.com/2019/11/my-fire-drill-fridays/">Fire Drill Fridays</a> at the U.S. Capitol last October. The goal was to raise awareness about the climate crisis and demand that the country transition away from fossil fuels.</p><p>Over the fall, Fonda and other protesters were arrested multiple times for civil disobedience. She even spent a night behind bars.</p>
<p>Fonda says before she started Fire Drill Fridays, she felt depressed and helpless about global warming.</p><p>"I wasn't doing enough and I didn't know what to do," she says.</p><p>But inspired by Greta Thunberg and other young activists, Fonda decided it was time to join the climate movement.</p>
<p>She says now, instead of just sitting around feeling scared about the future, she feels empowered and even hopeful.</p><p>"We have the future in our hands," she says. "What an awesome responsibility and what a beautiful opportunity."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/01/now-in-her-80s-jane-fonda-turns-to-climate-activism/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Joaquin Phoenix, Martin Sheen Arrested at Jane Fonda's Final DC Fire Drill Fridays Protest
14 January
Climate
Joaquin Phoenix is seen on the center steps of the Capitol before being arrested during a weekly rally with Jane Fonda to call for action on climate change on Friday, January 10, 2020. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc / Getty Images
By Zach Roberts
Every Friday for the last seven weeks, actress and activist Jane Fonda has held a rally and act of civil disobedience in front of the U.S. Capitol, calling for action on climate change. Each week she's been joined by different celebrities, journalists, and activists. Previous weeks have seen actors such as Law & Order's Sam Waterston, Fonda's co-star in Grace and Frankie, Lily Tomin, and Lincoln's Sally Field, to name a few.
<p>This final week in Washington, DC did not see Fonda get arrested like five of the previous weeks. In her stead, <em>West Wing</em>'s Martin Sheen and <em>Joker</em>'s Joaquin Phoenix were arrested and ticketed in an act of civil disobedience alongside hundreds of other activists. </p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/01/10/joaquin-phoenix-martin-sheen-arrested-jane-fonda-firedrillfriday-climate-protest-dc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em></p>
<p>Fonda is moving her protest to Los Angeles starting Feb. 7 and every Friday after that. She announced that #FireDrillFridays will be spreading across the country and those behind the movement will be creating activist kits for people to start their own localized actions.</p><p>Also at this week's protest were progressive author Naomi Klein, activist Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, Tribal attorney Tara Houska, Cherokee businessperson Rebecca Adamson, and Greenpeace executive director Annie Leonard. </p><h4>View the slideshow:</h4>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjUwNTQyOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNDEyNzg4NX0.Pq9YVo3NJr0CkkuRCFaSI0FY94SPsrMXUvmkuALjePQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="b54dc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="66cfc6d96e66f267a902f3a07e353bbc" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Jane Fonda is joined with actor Susan Sarandon as they march from their rally to the steps of the U.S. Capitol with hundreds of fellow activists behind them.
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Jane Fonda, Sam Waterston Arrested on Capitol Hill Protesting for Green New Deal
21 October 2019
Politics
Actress Jane Fonda (C) and actor Sam Waterston (L) participate in a protest in front of the U.S. Capitol during a "Fire Drill Fridays" climate change protest and rally on Capitol Hill, Oct. 18. Mark Wilson / Getty Images News
It appears Jane Fonda is good for her word. The actress and political activist said she would hold demonstrations on Capitol Hill every Friday through January to demand action on the climate crisis. Sure enough, Fonda was arrested for demonstrating a second Friday in a row Oct. 18, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Only this time, her Grace and Frankie co-star Sam Waterston joined her.
<p>The two actors were arrested with 15 other people demanding a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/green-new-deal" target="_self">Green New Deal</a>, a plan to transition the U.S. to 100 percent <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a> by 2030 while promoting green jobs and greater equality. </p><p>"We can do this!" the 78-year-old Waterston said during the protest, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jane-fonda-arrested-again-with-grace-and-frankie-costar-sam-waterston-in-climate-change-protest/" target="_blank">according to CBS News</a>. "We need something to push for that's as big as the problem."</p><p><a href="https://firedrillfridays.com/" target="_blank">Fire Drill Fridays</a>, the name for the movement Fonda has started, said it was Waterston's first time being arrested.</p>
<div id="19cac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="Q3T4O31576661281"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1185231929555202049" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Sam Waterston getting arrested for the first time for a #GreenNewDeal #firedrillfriday https://t.co/yRfvJagB9G</div> — Fire Drill Fridays (@Fire Drill Fridays)<a href="https://twitter.com/FireDrillFriday/statuses/1185231929555202049">1571416287.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br>The 17 demonstrators were arrested for unlawfully demonstrating and charged with crowding and obstructing or incommoding, Capitol police spokeswoman Eva Malecki told CBS News.<br></p><p>Ahead of the protest, Fonda and Waterston appeared in a <a href="https://www.janefonda.com/2019/10/facebook-live-teach-in-green-new-deal-with-jane-fonda-sam-waterston-and-rhiana-gunn-wright/" target="_blank">video</a> explaining the Green New Deal, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Fonda has promised to lead in to every protest with a "digital teach-in" Thursday evening explaining a different aspect of the climate crisis and the fight to combat it.</p>
<div id="02e6f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3QLFXZ1576661281"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1185616284324696065" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">In a Green New Deal, environmental devastation is considered especially heinous. On the planet, the dedicated activ… https://t.co/bQxqcPY3Df</div> — Fire Drill Fridays (@Fire Drill Fridays)<a href="https://twitter.com/FireDrillFriday/statuses/1185616284324696065">1571507924.0</a></blockquote></div><p>For Fonda, Fire Drill Fridays marks a return to arrestable activism after a four decade break. She was last arrested in the 1970s, according to an Associated Press story published by <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jane-fonda-sam-waterston-arrested-u-s-capitol-climate-protest-n1068841" target="_blank">NBC News</a>.</p><p>Fonda told The Associated Press that getting arrested had changed in the last 40-some years.</p><p>"They use white plastic things on your wrists instead of metal handcuffs, and that hurts more," Fonda said.</p><p>She also acknowledged to The Associated Press that getting arrested at 81 made for new difficulties.</p><p>"The only problem for me is I'm old," Fonda said of her first climate-related arrest Oct. 11. "I had my handcuffs behind me, and I couldn't get into the paddy wagon because you have to step way up as you're leaning over and I had nothing to hang on to."</p><p>But her age is also part of the point. Fonda said she was inspired by young climate activist <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greta-thunberg" target="_self">Greta Thunberg</a>, and wanted to attract others like her who were trying to make environmentally conscious choices in their daily lives but did not know what else they could do.</p><p>"We're trying to encourage people to become more active across the age spectrum," Fonda said.</p><p>So far, the protest movement seems to be effective. It drew a much bigger crowd in its second Friday, and most of the 17 arrestees had white or gray hair, The Associated Press noted.</p><p>Fire Drill Fridays has <a href="https://firedrillfridays.com/about#demands" target="_blank">five demands</a>, according to the website:</p><ol><li>A Green New Deal</li><li>Respect of Indigenous Land and Sovereignty</li><li>Environmental Justice</li><li>Protection and Restoration of Biodiversity</li><li>Implementation of Sustainable Agriculture</li></ol><p>Next week's teach-in and demonstration will focus on the impact of climate change on the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">oceans</a>. Good Place star Ted Danson and Greenpeace USA Oceans Director John Hocevar will join Fonda for <a href="https://firedrillfridays.com/events/teach-in-oceans" target="_blank">Thursday's discussion</a>.</p>
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