2 months ago
Jane Fonda brought her Committee for nan First Amendment to Washington, D.C. connected Friday, for a pre-No Kings Day that focused connected Donald Trump’s attacks connected nan media and nan pending merger betwixt Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Held connected a thoroughfare conscionable adjacent nan Kennedy Center, nan event’s intent was to “defend free look and governmental intimidation, organization capture, and censorship crossed nan arts, civilization and media.” Joining her were actors and performers including Joan Baez, Billy Porter, Maggie Rogers, Rupi Kaur, Sam Waterston, Griffin Dunne, Crys Matthews and Kristy Lee, arsenic good arsenic journalists Jim Acosta and Joy Reid, and writers Ann Patchett and Bess Kalb.
Fonda has been outspoken astir nan effect of caller media consolidation, not conscionable Paramount-WBD but nan FCC’s caller greenlight to nan Nexstar-Tegna combination, creating a broadcast elephantine of almost 270 TV stations.
“Since Trump has taken complete nan support of media mergers, we consequence having awesome jewels successful nan crown of independent publicity and nuanced intermezo being gutted,” Fonda told nan crowd. “I americium referring to Warner Bros. Studios, CNN and HBO. God, it hurts maine to opportunity those names that whitethorn still not beryllium what they were.”
She characterized attacks connected artists, constitute and journalists arsenic being “page 1 successful nan authoritarian playbook.”
She added, “The wide nationalist whitethorn deliberation this each doesn’t impact them, but it does if we don’t conflict back. The news will beryllium progressively fake. We won’t beryllium allowed to cognize what’s really happening. Our children’s world curricula will really beryllium censored. Ticket costs for taste events will spell up, while nan value will spell down. Books and films will beryllium shallower, lacking complexity.”
Paramount CEO David Ellison has defended nan merger. He has said that CNN’s independency “needs to beryllium maintained,” while he has based on that nan merger of nan 2 studios will boost movie output. The transaction is being reviewed by nan Justice Department, but it’s besides being scrutinized by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Fonda relaunched nan Committee for nan First Amendment past year, a motion to nan late-1940s group of artists formed to protestation nan emerging blacklist era. At Friday’s event, Waterston, Porter and Dunne publication from 1 of nan cardinal moments from that time, erstwhile Paul Robeson testified earlier nan House Un-American Activities Committee.
Fonda was a play beingness successful Washington successful nan autumn and early wintertime of 2019, erstwhile she led ambiance protests connected Capitol Hill and was arrested 5 times.
The arena featured aggregate references to Trump’s takeover of nan Kennedy Center committee which, precocious past year, added nan president’s sanction to nan arts complex. The committee precocious approved Trump’s scheme to shutter nan installation for 2 years successful July, successful what nan president has said is needed for renovations. But nan halfway has seen an exodus of artists pursuing nan sanction change, while summons income person been lagging, according to analyses successful The Washington Post and The New York Times.
“I considered turning successful my Kennedy Center Honor, but that would beryllium admitting defeat,” Baez told nan crowd. “It would mean we person fixed successful to a bully, who is doing his champion to portion america of our freedoms, to portion america of our joy.”
She and Rogers performed “The Times They Are A Changin'” and “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,” while Lee led a finale of “Free Love.”
Lee was among nan artists who backed retired of planned Kennedy Center performances earlier this year. Ric Grenell, who was president of nan halfway until earlier this month, dismissed nan creator cancellations pursuing nan sanction alteration for Trump. “Boycotting nan Arts to show you support nan arts is simply a shape of derangement syndrome,” Grenell wrote astatine nan time.
Lee, though, has said that adding Trump’s sanction was an effort to enforce “political branding” connected nan arts institution. At nan arena connected Friday, she said, “There’s a batch of things happening correct now that we each cognize conscionable ain’t right, and it’s sewage a batch of group disconnected from each other.”
“I’m not going to lie. I was looking guardant to nan opportunity,” she said. “But playing astatine that halfway aft what happened would person costs maine my integrity, and that’s worthy much than a paycheck.”
