Actress Jane Fonda has hosted her final weekly climate change protest—in D.C., at least.
Flanked by Martin Sheen and Susan Sarandon, Fonda stood in front of hundreds of protesters on the Capitol’s southeast lawn and called out major banks for investing in fossil fuels. “We’re building an army,” Fonda said.
Joaquin Phoenix got on stage and, after acknowledging that he flew here on a plane, gave a brief Golden Globe-like speech about the sins of the beef and dairy industry. “It’s so great that he’s here,” Fonda said, referring to the Joker actor. “I didn’t invite him—he came on his own volition.”
“We are called to find something in our lives worth fighting for,” Sheen said in an impassioned speech, and for a minute, it was impossible not to see President Jed Bartlet standing there, calling for us all to strive for a greater purpose.
Martin Sheen channels his old character Jed Bartlett at Capitol Hill climate change rally held by Jane Fonda.
“We are called to find something in our lives worth fighting for.” pic.twitter.com/QuI1MtmrkF
— Nate Madden (@NateOnTheHill) January 10, 2020
Sheen then joined the crowd in marching to the Capitol steps.
Elsewhere, more than 20 activists occupied a Chase Bank near the Capitol to speak out against the financing of pipelines and coal mines.
Fonda has led the weekly demonstrations at the Capitol since October. Called Fire Drill Fridays, the often celebrity-filled protests were inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s weekly protests and her message: “Our house is on fire.”
The D.C. protests have grown from a mere 16 people to 300, according to spokesperson Ira Arlook. And a series of celebrities have helped keep them in the headlines, with the likes of Ted Danson, Sam Waterston, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, and Gloria Steinem getting arrested alongside Fonda.
The veteran activist was arrested five times, taking her from the cold floor of the D.C. jail to an appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, to a meeting with the Senate climate task force (following the Colbert interview, more than 4,000 people reached out to Fonda’s team about starting Fire Drill Fridays in their own communities, according to Arlook.)
Fonda’s original plan was to get arrested on 14 consecutive Fridays, though she later reconsidered after a particularly rough night in jail in which she slept on her famed red coat and lent it to another woman for warmth. She also worried that additional arrests would land her in jail for 90 days, and imperil the filming of Grace and Frankie.
The actress is now returning to California to film the last season of the Netflix show. But she will continue to host one Fire Drill Friday each month, starting with a February 7 demonstration in Los Angeles.
After wrapping up filming this summer, Arlook says that Fonda won’t take any acting work for two years and devote herself completely to climate change activism.
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