Jane Fonda defended “waking up” while accepting Sunday's awards from the Screen Actors Guild Awards, a speech aimed at President Trump and the current American moment.
The 87-year-old Fonda embraced the Achievement Award in Life and detailed her acting career.
She praised fellow actors in the crowd for their ability to generate empathy through complex characters.
“You may dislike your character's behavior, but you have to understand and emphasize the traumatized people you're playing, right? I've got to write Sebastian Stan in “Apprentice.” I'm thinking about it,” Fonda said. “Undoubtedly, the empathy is weak and I'm not awake.”
“By the way, being woken up means you care about other people,” she added.
The actress did not explicitly call for Trump, but she highlighted Stan's performance in “Apprentice,” depicting Trump's rise in fame.
Fonda's comments received applause from the crowd.
Her statement follows Trump regarding the Kennedy Center.
In a rare and unprecedented move, the president named himself the chairman of the Center for the Performing Arts, telling reporters that he took over the center because he didn't like what he was showing. “I couldn't wake up any more in this country.”
Fonda referenced Trump's recent policies, and she called on fellow actors to protect vulnerable Americans and build one another.
“What's going on, what's going on, what's going on, will really hurt a lot of people, and even if they're another political persuasion, we can relate to it. Call and don't judge, Fonda said.
