Jane Fonda is urging Hollywood to confront these fraught times with empathy.

“What we, actors, create is empathy. Our job is to understand another human being so profoundly that we can touch their souls,” said Fonda, who was honored on Sunday night with SAG’s life achievement award. “And make no mistake, empathy is not weak or woke. By the way, woke just means you give a damn about other people.”

During her long speech, Fonda made oblique references to the political environment and the Trump administration’s drive to cut federal jobs.

“A whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening,” she said. “Even if they’re of a different political persuasion, we need to not judge but listen from our hearts.”

In 1972, Fonda went on to tour North Vietnam in a controversial trip would come to be the most famous — or infamous — part of her activist career, and led to her the nickname “Hanoi Jane,” according to Time magazine.

While in Vietnam, Fonda appeared on 10 radio programs to speak out against the U.S. military’s policy in Vietnam and beg pilots to cease bombing non-military targets. It was during that trip that a photograph was taken of her seated on an anti-aircraft gun in Hanoi, making it look like she would shoot down American planes.

At the time, Fonda’s public criticisms of U.S. leadership caused massive outrage among American officials and war veterans. More here

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