Jane Fonda Hopes Her New Doc Explains “Misunderstandings” of Her Vietnam Activism
Jane Fonda has lived an extraordinarily full life. She’s an Oscar-winning movie star, an iconic acti..
Jane Fonda has lived an extraordinarily full life. She’s an Oscar-winning movie star, an iconic activist, and a fitness guru who launched the workout home-video industry. In the upcoming documentary Jane Fonda in Five Acts, directed by Susan Lacy, she boldly puts that life on display—and makes it available for scrutiny. The film recently made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, where Fonda spoke to Vanity Fair’s Krista Smith about the kismet of premiering her documentary around the same time as the second Women’s March.
“I’m just finding it totally serendipitous,” the actress said, striking an elegant figure in a turtleneck and a wide-brimmed hat. “I think that the story [of her life] is timeless. I think that there’s a lot that people can learn from it.”
But just because she’s always been so open about her life doesn’t mean the documentary was easy for Fonda to watch. When it came to reliving certain parts of her life, particularly her headline-grabbing activism during the Vietnam War (which was recently invoked by an exasperated Megyn Kelly), Fonda had a tough time.
“It’s painful,” Fonda says of re-watching footage of herself in Vietnam, a trip that earned her the nickname “Hanoi Jane” after she was photographed on an anti-aircraft gun, which painted her as a traitor in the eyes of some Americans. While she’s glad that her actions made a difference for some of the people in Vietnam, it still isn’t easy to relive those moments all these decades later. “There were so many misunderstandings about my trip there.”
The trip raised her political profile, to the point where even then-president Richard Nixon was talking about her. Jane Fonda in Five Acts actually begins with audio of Nixon grumbling about the actress, a fact that Fonda still can’t wrap her head around. “That blew my mind.”
Still, Fonda doesn’t dwell on the successes or blunders of her life. “You only grow and learn from the mistakes you make and the wounds you receive,” she says thoughtfully. “I’m grateful for all of it.”
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