The White House says Jane Fonda is "free to share whatever bad opinions she wants" amid her relaunch of a McCarthy-era group but still defended President Trump as a "strong supporter of free speech."
The Academy Award-winning actor sounded the alarm on free speech in the United States and announced the formation of the Committee for the First Amendment on Wednesday. Just like in the 1940s, Fonda's group said in a statement, the federal government is "once again engaged in a coordinated campaign to silence critics in the government, the media, the judiciary, academia, and the entertainment industry."
“I’m 87 years old. I’ve seen war, repression, protest, and backlash. I’ve been celebrated, and I’ve been branded an enemy of the state. But I can tell you this: this is the most frightening moment of my life," the "9 to 5" star said in a letter urging her peers to join the committee, which her father, Henry Fonda, first helped organize in 1947.
More than 600 Hollywood figures signed on to her effort.
Asked by ITK for comment about Fonda forming the committee, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson referred to the entertainer by the nickname critics gave the performer during her controversial anti-Vietnam War activism in the 1970s.
“Hanoi Jane is free to share whatever bad opinions she wants. As someone who actually knows what it’s like to be censored, President Trump is a strong supporter of free speech and Democrat allegations to the contrary are so false, they’re laughable," Jackson said.
Trump, Jackson said, "is focused on left-wing organizations that have fueled violent riots, organized attacks against law enforcement officers, coordinated illegal doxing campaigns, arranged drop points for weapons and riot materials, incited violence all across America."
A Fonda representative declined to comment Wednesday on the White House spokeswoman's remarks.
Updated at 8:44 p.m. EDT
Source: The Hill - News
