Jane Fonda’s fellow prison inmates were only “mildly impressed” by her stellar movie career.
Jane Fonda’s fellow prison inmates were only ‘mildly impressed’ by her stellar movie career
The actress and activist, 86, was jailed again over her protesting in 2019 – for crowding, obstructing, or incommoding while raising awareness about climate change in Washington, D.C. – and she has now told how her fame meant very little to other convicts.
She told hosts Ted Danson, 76, and Woody Harrelson, 62, on SiriusXM’s ‘Where Everybody Knows Your Name’ podcast about her fifth stint in jail, which only lasted a night: “I was the only white person there. A lot of other prisoners – black women – could have cared less who I was.
“They had far more important things to think about and none of them had seen any of my movies.”
But the inmates had a bit of interest in the fact she had appeared alongside Jennifer Lopez, 54, in the 2005 romantic comedy ‘Monster-in-Law’.
She added: “They had seen ‘Monster-in-Law’. I pulled that card and they were mildly impressed, but not really.
“They went right back and talked about what they were dealing with – which was survival issues. It was an eye-opener.”
Double Oscar-winner Jane was joined at one of her Washington ‘Fire Drill Friday’ climate change protest events by ‘Cheers’ star Ted, who said: “(For) most people in this world, especially people of colour (getting arrested is a) way different (experience.)
Jane added: “There’s something very liberating about engaging in civil disobedience.
“It’s like putting your whole body on the line where your deepest values are, and you don’t get many chances in life to do that.
“Even though we’re treated okay once we’re there – because they don’t want to make a stink because we’re white and famous.”
