Jane Fonda’s advice to people who are depressed about the future: Get involved

Jane Fonda’s advice to people who are depressed about the future: Get involved

Jane Fonda knows what it’s like to worry about the future.

In an exclusive interview with USC Annenberg Media, the Oscar-winning actor and activist, 86, reflects on his six-decade career and his efforts to address the climate crisis.

That work, he said, helped bring him out of the darkness.

“Maybe five or six years ago, I was really upset about the climate. I was doing something, but I knew I could do more now that I had a platform,” Fonda said. “It was hard for me to get out of bed, I was so depressed. Then I started Fire Training Friday and once I started my activism completely, the depression went away.”

Being an activist helps keep her “hopeful,” she says, though admits we live in “very dangerous times right now.”

“I think the most dangerous threat we face is the climate crisis, because if we don’t face it in time, it will be very difficult to achieve democracy, equality, whatever we want in a stable society,” he said. “When I decided to devote myself to the issue of the climate crisis full time, it was to try to warn people about what’s coming. We have about six years to reduce our fossil fuel emissions.” Fonda’s work as an activist began in earnest in the 1970s, when her mentor, a black lawyer, offered her some words of wisdom.

“I said to him, ‘I think I’ll never be an actor again because it’s too difficult for me when I’m working with people who are in very different situations in the world,'” she said. “He said to me, ‘Fonda, the movement has many organizers. We don’t have movie stars. We need movie stars. You not only have to keep doing what you’re doing but you have to pay more attention, own it. Own your career, make it work for you as an activist.’”

That’s what he did, thriving as an activist and as an actor in beloved films, including “9 to 5,” “Coming Home” and “The China Syndrome.”

Now Fonda wants others to burn for doing good too.

“While I have the opportunity, with every ounce of me, I want to say to the young people who will read this: please vote and vote with the climate in your heart. People are worried about the climate, but they don’t take it to the voting booth with them,” he told the publication. “We have to face this to have a livable future. This is your future, I’m going to die.”