PREVIEW

Jane Fonda urges actors to embrace empathy during 2025 SAG Awards speech. The actress-activist was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. After receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, Jane began her acceptance speech by insisting the accolade "means the world to me”. ”Your enthusiasm makes this seem less like a late-twilight-of-my-life (moment) and more like a, 'Go girl, kick a*s (one).' Which is good, because I'm not done.” Jane went on to describe herself as a "late bloomer" in Hollywood and asserted she is a "big believer in unions”. "They have our backs. They bring us into community, and they give us power. Community means power, and this is really important right now when workers' power is being attacked and community is being weakened.” "But SAG-AFTRA is different than most other unions because us, the workers, we actors, we don't manufacture anything tangible. What we create is empathy.” “Our job is to understand another human being so profoundly that we can touch their souls. We know why they do what they do; we feel their joys and their pain.” The Klute star then offered examples of acting roles with complex backstories, such as sex workers and bullies. ”While you may hate the behaviour of your character, you have to understand and empathise with the traumatised person you're playing, right? Make no mistake, empathy is not weak or 'woke' - and by the way, 'woke' just means you give a damn about other people.” "Back to empathy: A whole lot of people are gonna be really hurt by what is happening; what is coming our way. And even if they are of a different political persuasion, we need to call upon our empathy and not judge, but listen from our hearts, and welcome them into our tent.” “Because we are gonna need a big tent to resist successfully what's coming at us.” Elsewhere, Jane encouraged fans to "be brave" amid changes to the social and political climate in the United States following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Instructions: THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT