Why Jane Fonda uses her influence to ‘stand up for the underdog’

For somebody who’s won some of the biggest awards in entertainment, you might be surprised at how often Jane Fonda has been arrested. But for Jane, advocating for something you believe in is a risk worth taking. You might know Jane from movies like Klute, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? or Barbarella. Or maybe you’re more familiar with her most recent Netflix series, Grace and Frankie. While Jane has built this incredible, award-winning career, she’s continuously advocated for the “underdog” — speaking out about causes from the Vietnam War to racism to climate change. All of this is in her book, What Can I Do? The Path from Climate Despair to Action. In this conversation from 2020, Jane takes Tom back to the early days of her activism, what it was like being criticized by former U.S. president Richard Nixon and why she’s never decided between acting and activism.