For every Friday of fall 2019, Jane Fonda was on Capitol Hill, protesting climate change alongside friends like Gloria Steinem and actresses Rosanna Arquette, Sally Field and Catherine Keener.
Fonda could spend her time in retirement, enjoying the fruits of an illustrious Hollywood career. Instead, on the eve of her 82nd birthday, she was led out of the Hart Senate Building in handcuffs. She had been arrested for civil disobedience.
Since September, Fonda says she’s “lost count” of how many times she’s been arrested. Since October, she had begun organizing weekly protests with the catchy nickname “Fire Drill Fridays.” She said she was inspired by activist Greta Thunberg, who every Friday since last year has been boycotting school to protest climate change.
Watch the full story on "Nightline" TONIGHT at 12:35 a.m. ET on ABC
“All of these young people striking on Friday, saying, ‘Come on, adults, where are you? We didn't cause this, but it's our future that's at stake. Don't let us fight for this by ourselves,’” Fonda said. “So I said, ‘Right, I'm not doing enough.’ … I want to be able to [put] my body on the line and kind of role-model what the next step should look like.”
Fonda acknowledges that climate activism can “seem overwhelming.”
“But here's the thing. In cities all over the country and states…they're all at the table figuring out what has to be done to reduce the carbon footprint of their particular city or state,” she said. “It's happening. It's just now it has to happen globally.”
Fonda believes that right now, “the most important thing is that all new fossil fuel expansion has to stop.”
“We can have windmills and solar panels and hydroelectric and all of those things. But if they keep drilling and keep emitting fossil fuel carbon dioxide, we're not gonna get there,” she said.
Prior to her workout empire, Fonda is perhaps best known for her on-screen roles in films like “Barbarella” and “Klute.”
But activism, like her Hollywood career, has been a lifelong journey for the star who’s been a regular at protests for years, and both revered and reviled for her efforts.
It all began in the 1960s, when Fonda took a stand against the Vietnam War. A trip to Hanoi landed the actress in hot water with veterans who believed the act was anti-American. That was just the beginning for Fonda.
MORE: Jane Fonda tells 'The View': 'We are the last generation who can make the difference between life and death of the planet'In the decades since, she’s made her voice heard on arctic drilling, civil rights, reproductive rights, indigenous people’s rights, violence against women, the Iraq War and much more.
What’s different now, Fonda said, is the urgency of climate change.
“There's never been a ticking time bomb hanging over our heads. You know, this isn't one war or one issue in one place. This is the future of the entire planet,” Fonda said. “There's a looming catastrophe that will affect all of humanity. That's what's different. That's never happened before in the history of humankind.”
Fonda is making changes in her own life to combat climate change. She says the now-infamous red coat she wears to protests will be the last clothing purchase she’ll ever make.
“I had to get something red…it was on sale, and so I bought it,” she said. “I'm not ever buying anything new again. Of course, it's easy for me to say. I'm 82 and I don't have that much time to worry about it. It's becoming a thing, consumerism. And so, I thought, well, that's another way that I can try to be a role model.”
Fonda is serious about not buying new clothes, saying that the only exceptions would be underwear and socks.
In addition, she said, “I try to fly less… I’ve gotten rid of single-use plastics. I drive an electric car. I had a windmill and photovoltaic XLs on my roof since the ‘70s.”
Over the course of 13 weeks, Fonda has been joined on the steps of the Capitol by people like Taylor Schilling of “Orange is the New Black”; Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream; actor Ted Danson; and Lily Tomlin, Fonda’s “Grace and Frankie” co-star.