1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Welcome fans of movie history and true crime to Hollywood Land, 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: where we are once again rewinding the tape in our 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: archive of stories to bring you this episode on Jane Fonda. 4 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: I'm a child of the eighties, so to me. Growing up, 5 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: Jane Fonda was the face of American fitness commercials for 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 1: her exercise books and videos were ubiquitous. Those ads hid 7 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: from me and for many others, the fact that only 8 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: years earlier, Jane Fonda was a major box office draw. 9 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: In fact, in the seventies, she won the Academy Award 10 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: for Best Actress twice in just seven years time, first 11 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,480 Speaker 1: for her role in Clute and then again in Coming Home. 12 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: She also won two baths At Awards in the span 13 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: of two years for Julia and the China Syndrome, and 14 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty she co starred with Lily Tomlin and 15 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: Dolly Parton in Nine to Five, the second highest grossing 16 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: film of that year. But just a few years later, 17 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: to those of us being weaned on MTV and Saturday 18 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: Morning cartoons, she was the one with the neon workout 19 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: outfits and the bunched up warmers pedaling aerobics videos. Some 20 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: of the truths about Jane Fonda were hiding in plain sight, 21 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: and I'm not talking just about her incredible movie career. 22 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: Things are not always what they seem in Hollywood Land, 23 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:14,119 Speaker 1: and back on the seventies, in the midst of all 24 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: these awards and accolades for her work on screen, America 25 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: was split on what they thought about Jane Fonda, a 26 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: split that even made its way to the desk of 27 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,119 Speaker 1: the President of the United States. I hope you dig 28 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 1: this fully scripted and sound designed narrative episode on Jane Fonda, 29 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: And then I hope you come back on Wednesday this 30 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:32,919 Speaker 1: week when I get to answer your calls and texts 31 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: and emails in the rap party, and then again on 32 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: Friday here in the screening room when I do a 33 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,279 Speaker 1: deep dive into the nineteen seventy one paranoid thriller Clute. 34 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 2: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 35 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 2: Please check the show notes for more information. Hollywood Land 36 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 2: is a production of Double Elvis. 37 00:01:54,200 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 3: Yes people, right out of Way, two Way, Who's Gotten 38 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 3: the worl Londo No, not the matter with the cruel 39 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 3: world today. 40 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 2: The stories about Jane Fonda are insane. She was so 41 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 2: beloved that a gallop Pole named her the fourth most 42 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 2: admired woman in the world, and she was so hated 43 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 2: that her face was used for target practice and urinals 44 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 2: at military basis across the country. She was accused by 45 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 2: some of committing a treasonous act that led directly to 46 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 2: the deaths of American POWs, and she was personally set 47 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 2: up by President Richard Nixon on a bogus drug smuggling church. 48 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 2: And though her life as a political activist often overshadowed 49 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,359 Speaker 2: her life as an actress, Jane Fonda made great films, 50 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:55,519 Speaker 2: unlike that clip I played for you at the top 51 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 2: of the show that wasn't from a great film. That 52 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 2: was a fair use from the Library of Congress of 53 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 2: Buster Brown performing war Song in nineteen forty three. I 54 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 2: played you that clip because I can't afford the rights 55 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 2: to Francis Ford Coppola as the Godfather. And why would 56 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 2: I play you that specific slice of Sleeps with the 57 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 2: Fishes Cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the 58 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 2: number one movie in America on July twelfth, nineteen seventy two, 59 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 2: and that was the day Jane Fonda landed in Hanoi 60 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,400 Speaker 2: to kick off a ten day tour of North Vietnam, 61 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 2: a trip that would forever cement her as either a 62 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 2: patriot or a trader in the eyes of a divided country. 63 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 2: On this episode, target practice trees in his acts, drug smuggling, 64 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 2: sleeps with the Fishes, cheese in Jane Fonda, I'm Jake Brennan, 65 00:03:49,240 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 2: and this is Hollywood Land. The airplane landed hard on 66 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 2: the runway. It bounced twice before a rush of wind 67 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 2: lifted it back off the ground. The pilot struggled to 68 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 2: aim the nose down as another gust pushed the aircraft 69 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:36,279 Speaker 2: sharply to the left. The pilot centered the controls and 70 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 2: then brought the Boeing seven forty seven to a stop. 71 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 2: Not a graceful landing, but not bad for her blustery 72 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 2: November night. They found headwinds all the way from Vancouver, 73 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 2: and finally they were in Cleveland. It was just past midnight. 74 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 2: Jane Fonda rubbed her eyes. She couldn't wait to get 75 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 2: through customs and hit the hotel bed for a few 76 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 2: hours of sleep. The last six weeks had been ruling, speeches, protests, fundraisers, 77 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:06,919 Speaker 2: and a trip to Canada attacked on at the last minute. 78 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:09,359 Speaker 2: She knew she should have said no, but it was 79 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 2: hard to turn down the veterans who were brave enough 80 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 2: to speak out against the war in Vietnam. Listening to 81 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 2: their stories night after night brought her to tears. It 82 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 2: hardened her budding activism, and their heart wrenching tales about 83 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 2: the failures of military leadership, the lies of the Nixon administration, 84 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 2: and the brutality of war had inspired her to join 85 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 2: this campaign in the first place, But she was beginning 86 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:37,159 Speaker 2: to wonder if they were asking too much of her. 87 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 2: The travel was non stop. She was sleeping on floors 88 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 2: and couches, living out of a single over night back, 89 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:49,719 Speaker 2: and lately she had a shadow following her everywhere the FBI. 90 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 2: The stress was pushing her to the breaking point. She 91 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 2: had a cut back soon. For now, she kept moving 92 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 2: in traveled light only a few t shirts of genes, 93 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 2: a bulging black address book, and a few dozen vials 94 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:09,040 Speaker 2: of pills dexadrine value and vitamin supplements, all doctor prescribed 95 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 2: and perfectly legal. Jane was thankful for the cocktail of 96 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,680 Speaker 2: drugs that kept her functioning despite her hectic schedule. As 97 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:17,719 Speaker 2: not only one of the most in demand actresses in 98 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 2: the world, but one of the most in demand activists. 99 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 2: The dexadrine took the edge off her hunger and boosted 100 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 2: her energy, and the valume helped her come down at night. 101 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 2: And the vitamins and they were magic. All the nutrients 102 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 2: of body needed with none of the calories, Or so 103 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 2: the thinking went in nineteen seventy. In truth, Jane's body 104 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 2: was breaking down. Her bones were brittle, her hair was 105 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 2: falling out. She was hungry and irritable all the time. 106 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 2: On a five foot seven frame, she weighed less than 107 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 2: one hundred and ten pounds, but director said she looked 108 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 2: great on camera. After playing the lead in the racy 109 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 2: sci fi Ron Barberrella magazines named her the sexiest woman alive, 110 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,040 Speaker 2: Jane didn't buy it. No matter how thin she was, 111 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 2: she still hated her body. Her father, the actor Henry Fonda, 112 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 2: constantly criticized her growing up. He teased her for her 113 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 2: chubby cheeks, and when she sprouted curves as a teenager, 114 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 2: he insisted she cover up with long dresses. Even now, 115 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 2: twenty years later, those comments still rang in her head 116 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 2: every time she looked in the mirror. Jane's mother died 117 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 2: when Jane was twelve, suicide. It left Jane desperate for 118 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 2: her father's approval, and despite his charming demeanor on set 119 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 2: at home, Henry Fonda was cold and distant. As a teenager, 120 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 2: Jane thought she could make herself thin enough to win 121 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 2: his love. But now, at thirty two, that love hadn't arrived, 122 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 2: and bolimia had become every bit as addictive as any pill. 123 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 2: So as the swinging sixties commenced, Jane Fonda filled the 124 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 2: hungry void inside her with drugs and debauchery. She married 125 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 2: a French director and dabbled with grass, lsd hash and cocaine. 126 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 2: Her husband wanted to experiment sexually as well, and Jane 127 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 2: was determined to please him. She solicited friends, fellow starlet's 128 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 2: even call girls from the Paris brothel Madame Claudes to 129 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 2: join them in bed, anything to please the man in 130 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 2: her life. By nineteen sixty nine, the decadence and glamour 131 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 2: was starting to lose its appeal, and then everything turned 132 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 2: sour when Jane's friend Sharon Tate was brutally murdered in 133 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 2: her home. Charles Manson brought trueharror to Hollywood and sent 134 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 2: many stars scrambling for a sense of real safety, Jane 135 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 2: found herself searching for purpose. She thought she'd found it 136 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 2: two years earlier. The March on the Pentagon was an 137 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 2: eye opening moment, protesters sticking flowers and gun barrels of 138 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 2: young soldiers and federal marshals beating housewives and grandmothers who 139 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,199 Speaker 2: dared oppose the war. Reading and watching the news use 140 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 2: was no longer enough. At that moment, Jane Fonda was 141 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 2: ready to throw herself into the movement. Her first big 142 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 2: success was organizing the anti war comedy show FTA aka 143 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 2: Free the Army or Fuck the Army to those in 144 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 2: the now. She recruited fellow actors including Donald Sutherland and 145 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 2: musicians Nina Simone and Country Joe McDonald for a freewheeling 146 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 2: sketch comedy show designed as a left leaning response to 147 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 2: Bob Hope's USO tour. The show has hilariously skewered military 148 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 2: brass and President Nixon and other leaders. Playing for thousands 149 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 2: at GI coffeehouses across the country, the show also attracted 150 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 2: the attention of powerful men, men like Nixon and FBI 151 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:47,559 Speaker 2: director Jay Edgar Hoover that blonde bimbo from Barbarella dared 152 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 2: lecture them about military policy. Even worse, she ended each 153 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 2: show by recruiting actual gis to speak out against the war. 154 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 2: Too much of that talk could bring down the whole system. 155 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,160 Speaker 2: Dixon would be damned if he was going to let 156 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 2: that happen on his watch. He was going to send 157 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 2: Jane Fonda a message, and her trip to Canada provided 158 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 2: the perfect opportunity. Jane Fonda walked off the plane in 159 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,080 Speaker 2: Cleveland and hauled her over night bag to the customs window. 160 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 2: She could already feel the comfort of that hotel bed 161 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 2: almost there now, and she placed the bag down and 162 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 2: reached for her passport. Suddenly, two men in black suits 163 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 2: came out of nowhere. They grabbed her and whisked her 164 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 2: into a small room. She freaked out, What was going on? 165 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 2: Where were they taking her? Neither man responded to her questions, 166 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 2: so she kept repeating them over and over. They couldn't 167 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 2: just give her the silent treatment. Someone had to say 168 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 2: something now. Finally, one of the men slammed his fist 169 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 2: down on the table. 170 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: In front of her. 171 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 2: You're not in Hollywood, little miss. You're in my control, 172 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:55,080 Speaker 2: and I take my orders directly from Washington. Got it. 173 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 2: Jane didn't know how to respond She knew the FBI 174 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 2: was falling, but she didn't think they would go this far. 175 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 2: She never thought the President of the United States would 176 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:09,680 Speaker 2: personally request that she'd be taken into custody. The agent 177 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 2: grabbed her bag and dumped it out onto the table. 178 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:14,199 Speaker 2: He took her address book and the one full of 179 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,560 Speaker 2: the names and numbers of political radicals. He picked up 180 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 2: the vials of pills. Well, what do we have here? 181 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:23,559 Speaker 2: Each had a letter written on top of the cap 182 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 2: b l D Benzos LSD, some new drug only Hollywood 183 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,680 Speaker 2: types knew about. Jane broke the tension with the simple truth. 184 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 2: They were vitamins, one for breakfast, one for lunch, and 185 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:41,319 Speaker 2: one for dinner. BLD didn't matter what she said, though. 186 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,720 Speaker 2: Jane Fonda was booked for a suspicion of drug smuggling. 187 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 2: Instead of spending the night in a hotel, she spent 188 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 2: it in a Cleveland jail cell. The press was waiting 189 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 2: when she arrived. Dozens of reporters swarmed the car. The 190 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 2: agents pulled her out of the back seat, her hands 191 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 2: cuffed behind her back. She was exhausted, strung out, and 192 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 2: she was pissed. There was no way she was going peacefully. 193 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 2: She slipped her thin wrists through the cuffs and turned 194 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 2: back to face the reporters. She raised her fist high 195 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,080 Speaker 2: in the power to the people, saluke for the agent's 196 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 2: dractor inside. The charges were quietly dropped a few weeks later, 197 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:22,120 Speaker 2: but the damage to Jane Fonda's reputation had already been done. 198 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,840 Speaker 2: The warning from Nixon was crystal clear. Keep going down 199 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 2: this path and we could do worse, much worse. The 200 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 2: line of people's snaked through the bookstore, passed fiction in 201 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 2: the children's section, and a large collection of used World 202 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 2: War II histories, out the front door, and around the 203 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 2: block down the street. He'd been waiting for nearly an hour. 204 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 2: Couldn't believe the size of the line. Must be one 205 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 2: thousand people strong. He felt sick to his stomach. Look 206 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:18,719 Speaker 2: at all these women lined up for a photo or 207 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 2: an autograph with an airhead actress, like she was some 208 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 2: kind of hero. The chewing tobacco nestled under his lip 209 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,959 Speaker 2: wasn't helping matters either, and got it reaked. He never 210 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 2: chewed tobacco, and the taste from the lump in his 211 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:36,640 Speaker 2: cheek right now he didn't want to gag. Every few minutes. Still, 212 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:38,840 Speaker 2: if he could manage to keep it down for a 213 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 2: bit longer, it would be worth the taste, and then 214 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 2: he'd never have to touch the stuff again in his life. 215 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 2: He pulled the black Vietnam vet hat down over his face. 216 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,200 Speaker 2: He felt like everyone in the store was staring at him. 217 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,200 Speaker 2: He debated, wearing the hat at all wasn't too much 218 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 2: it would giveaway In the end, he wanted to make 219 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 2: sure it was clear to everyone why he was doing this. Yes, 220 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,960 Speaker 2: so he kept on. Turned out he didn't need to worry. 221 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:06,600 Speaker 2: There were a handful of other guys here tonight wearing 222 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 2: the exact same hat. The thing that puzzled him, though, 223 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 2: was that some of them seemed happy to meet Jane Fonda. 224 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 2: Maybe in Los Angeles, but here in Kansas City. Everyone 225 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 2: he served with knew that Jane Fonda was a fucking trader. 226 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 2: She'd been spitting in the face of veterans for almost 227 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 2: forty years. Tonight she was going to get a taste 228 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:34,920 Speaker 2: of her own medicine. In two thousand and five, after 229 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 2: nearly fifteen years away from the spotlight, Jane Fonda was back. 230 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 2: Nixon's threat failed to stop her activism. In the nineteen seventies. 231 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,360 Speaker 2: In fact, Jane outlasted Nixon when the Watergate scandal forced 232 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 2: him to resign in nineteen seventy four. Meanwhile, Jane's career 233 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,720 Speaker 2: roared to new heights. She was nominated for an Oscar 234 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 2: for her performance in The China Syndrome and took home 235 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 2: Best Actress for her role in Coming Home. In her forties, 236 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 2: she kicked bolimia and turned a high intensity aerobics for 237 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 2: a new endorphin rush. She loved the routines and eventually 238 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 2: started teaching classes on set during film shoots and at 239 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,840 Speaker 2: her gym in Beverly Hills. A best selling book followed, 240 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 2: but she had no idea that Jane Fonda's workout would 241 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 2: make her an icon. When the videotape came out in 242 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty two, there was no video sales market. VHS 243 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 2: was mostly rentless. People simply weren't going to pay fifty 244 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:34,400 Speaker 2: nine to ninety nine for a videotape just to watch 245 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 2: it over and over again. The Jane Fonda changed all that. 246 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 2: The Jane Fonda Workout sold more than seventeen million copies, 247 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 2: kicked off the home video revolution, and set the standard 248 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 2: for every celebrity workout video on the market today, although 249 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 2: she still raised boatloads of cash for progressive causes through 250 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 2: her film production company. By the mid eighties, Jane Fonda 251 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 2: was less visible in her activism. U non war was 252 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,000 Speaker 2: no longer the first thing reporters mentioned when they talked 253 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 2: with her, and when they did, they spoke admiringly of 254 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 2: her principles. A gallop Pole in nineteen eighty four named 255 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 2: her the fourth most admired woman in the world. Then 256 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 2: things changed abruptly. As memories of the Vietnam War faded, 257 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:24,040 Speaker 2: some politicians began to revise history. Their take was that 258 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 2: the war effort was doomed not by poor military command, 259 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 2: bad strategy, and unrealistic goals, but by hippies and college 260 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:35,840 Speaker 2: bombs and celebrity protesters. Ronald Reagan took potshots at Jane 261 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:39,240 Speaker 2: Fonda and his campaign speeches, and by nineteen eighty seven, 262 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 2: protests were breaking out in towns where she was filming 263 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 2: her movies. The anger, which had been dormant for more 264 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 2: than a decade, shocked her. She quietly announced her retirement 265 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 2: from acting the following year and retreated from public life. Now, however, 266 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:55,800 Speaker 2: she was back with a new movie and a new 267 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 2: book about her life. Sure she dug into her activism. 268 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 2: In her memoir, she admitted a few regrets, but largely 269 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 2: stood by her work. Most of it was four years 270 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 2: in the past, and surely people were ready to move on. 271 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 2: The man in the Vietnam Vet had put his hand 272 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:17,160 Speaker 2: in his pocket and unfolded the print out to read 273 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 2: once more. The letter described Jane's controversial visit to Hanoi 274 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 2: back in nineteen seventy two. It ridiculed Jane for her 275 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:29,680 Speaker 2: lame brained Hollywood activism and for being naive. Described how 276 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,640 Speaker 2: she let herself be brainwashed by the North Vietnamese and 277 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 2: how she had actually gone so far as to betray 278 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 2: American prisoners of war. His blood boiled every time he 279 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,159 Speaker 2: read that part. He imagined Jane fond of visiting the 280 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:45,479 Speaker 2: infamous Hanoi Hilton prison camp. He had buddies who had 281 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 2: lived in that squalid prison for years. He knew from 282 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:50,680 Speaker 2: the print doubt that the men were forced to meet 283 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 2: with her. Some refused, and they were beaten. Those who 284 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 2: did meet with her were forced to apologize for bombing babies, 285 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 2: forced to smile and tell the world they were being 286 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 2: treated humanely by their captors. In their desperation, they tried 287 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,160 Speaker 2: to pass a long notes to her, notes to prove 288 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:13,879 Speaker 2: to their families they were still alive. Jane collected them 289 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,680 Speaker 2: in her hand as the cameras rolled and the prisoners 290 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 2: breathed sighs of relief. But as soon as the cameras stopped, 291 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 2: she handed the notes over to their North Korean captors. 292 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:27,160 Speaker 2: Men could die for that shit. Others had been beaten 293 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 2: nearly to death but lived to pass on this tale. 294 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:33,639 Speaker 2: Their names and ranks were listed on this paper, this 295 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,479 Speaker 2: paper that he held in his hand. His buddies who 296 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 2: had been captured in Vietnam often told stories like these 297 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 2: of her beers in the VFW hall. In between rounds, 298 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,439 Speaker 2: they used Jane's face for target practice in the urinals. 299 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 2: This paper, this paper had facts and dates. It couldn't 300 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 2: be just a rumor. It had to be real. He 301 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 2: folded the letter up and put it back in his pocket, 302 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 2: and after waiting nearly ninety minutes, he was almost to 303 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 2: the front of the line. He spit into the styrophone 304 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 2: cup he was holding and pushed the lump of tobacco 305 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,120 Speaker 2: around in his cheek. Couldn't wait to get rid of it. 306 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 2: The pair of middle aged housewives stepped up in line, 307 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:16,919 Speaker 2: and finally he was next. He watched as they handed 308 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:19,560 Speaker 2: over a copy of Jane's new memoir for her to sign. 309 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 2: The workout changed my life, one of them said to her, 310 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:27,199 Speaker 2: we're such an inspiration. God. He couldn't believe this was 311 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 2: his country. Jane Fonda an inspiration. She shook her ass 312 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,159 Speaker 2: and her tits on screen. She did a little workout video. 313 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 2: She stabbed her country in the back. That's what counted 314 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:42,080 Speaker 2: for inspiration these days. You're here to pay a debt, 315 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 2: a debt of honor, he told himself. Stay focused on 316 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 2: the mission. The women in front of him picked up 317 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 2: their books and took a step towards the exit. He 318 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,240 Speaker 2: spit into the cup one last time, steadied himself, and 319 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:59,159 Speaker 2: then bolted forward. Fuck you, annoyed Jane, He screamed and 320 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:01,639 Speaker 2: threw the cup of into her face. A pair of 321 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 2: bookstore employees hit the deck, but Jane Fonda didn't move 322 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,600 Speaker 2: at all. She turned her head and locked eyes with 323 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 2: a placid expression on her face. He got closer, now, 324 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 2: his eyes wide with rage to game, and spit a 325 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 2: stream of tobacco cheese at her face. Mission accomplished, a 326 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:22,360 Speaker 2: security guard leveled the man with a flying tackle from behind. 327 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 2: The Vietnam vette had flew through the air, and a 328 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,959 Speaker 2: stack of books crashed to the floor. Jane looked out 329 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 2: at the dumbfounded crowd. Nearly a thousand people frozen in place, 330 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:36,119 Speaker 2: but not her. She had survived FBI surveillance in battles 331 00:20:36,119 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 2: with Richard Nixon. They would take more than a little 332 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 2: bodily fluid to scare her. She raised her chin and 333 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,960 Speaker 2: calmly reached for her handkerchief in her purse. She dabbed 334 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,399 Speaker 2: her face lightly and then flashed her dazzling movie star smile. 335 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,359 Speaker 2: Next in line, Please, she called out, and the crowd 336 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 2: roared with laughter. Still, she couldn't help but wonder with 337 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:06,879 Speaker 2: the name Hanoi Jane Follower forever, We'll be right back. 338 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:09,399 Speaker 1: After this word were wre. 339 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 2: The air raid sirens ripping through downtown. Her noise shattered 340 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,479 Speaker 2: the midday calm a moment ago, the streets were buzzing 341 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 2: with bikes and pedestrians. Now people ran wildly in every direction. 342 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 2: In the chaos, Jane Fonda felt the crowd surge between 343 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 2: her and her translator, pushing them in opposite directions. Now, 344 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,920 Speaker 2: Jane stood in the middle of the street, frozen with fear. 345 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 2: As people went streaming past. She frantically scanned the crowd 346 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 2: for a familiar face. Where was her translator? And the 347 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,239 Speaker 2: rumble of incoming jets mixed with the sirens in her 348 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,919 Speaker 2: heart pounded. She didn't know what to do. Then she 349 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:54,400 Speaker 2: felt a small hand brushing her elbow. She looked down 350 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 2: and saw a young girl no more than twelve, pulling 351 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 2: on her arm. The girl let her off the street 352 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 2: and down an alleyway. Jane was relieved to see her 353 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 2: translator sprinting after them. In the alley, the girl lifted 354 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:09,080 Speaker 2: up a pile of reeds and straw to reveal a 355 00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 2: small bomb shelter dug into the ground. The girl pushed 356 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,960 Speaker 2: Jane into the hole, wedged herself in beside Jane's translator, 357 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:20,280 Speaker 2: and slid the cover over the hole. The three sat 358 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 2: in the darkness, trying to catch their breath. Jane could 359 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,240 Speaker 2: feel the girl's tiny heart beating against her skin. The 360 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 2: girl's eyelashes fluttered against Jane's cheek, her breath warm. They 361 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,639 Speaker 2: heard the planes pass overhead, and Jane began to cry. 362 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,159 Speaker 2: She knew her country was responsible for the bombs that 363 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 2: were beginning to fall. The girl spoke calmly in Vietnamese. 364 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:46,040 Speaker 2: The translator spoke, don't cry for us. We know why 365 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,239 Speaker 2: we are fighting. Cry for your soldiers. They don't know 366 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 2: why they are here, and they don't know why they 367 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 2: are fighting us. Jane Fondo wiped away her tears and 368 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 2: turned the girl's words over and over in her head. 369 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,760 Speaker 2: While American jets flew above, the plans passed without incident. 370 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 2: The three women climbed out of the hole in the 371 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 2: ground and Jane hugged the young girl. She had already 372 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 2: seen so much death and destruction on this trip. She 373 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:14,199 Speaker 2: was glad for a reprieve today. It was July seventeenth, 374 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy two, five days after Jane Fonda arrived in Hanoi. 375 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,960 Speaker 2: Like hundreds of other American activists who visited North Vietnam, 376 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,240 Speaker 2: she met with POW's and delivered letters from their families 377 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 2: back home. She observed the destruction caused by American weapons 378 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:32,480 Speaker 2: and met women and children who had been mutilated by 379 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 2: American bombs, like Pete Seeger and Joan Biaz. She spoke 380 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 2: out against American military policy on Radio Hanoi back in 381 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 2: the States, Richard Nixon was running for reelection on his 382 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 2: promise to finally end the war in reality, while drawing 383 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 2: down the number of American troops, who was rapidly ramping 384 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 2: up bombings, including civilian targets in North Vietnam. Officially, the 385 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 2: administer denied it, but many veterans told Jane of homes 386 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 2: and hospitals being targeted, even the vital River Delta, where 387 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,200 Speaker 2: much of the country's rice crop was grown. If the 388 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:13,679 Speaker 2: levees were destroyed, humanitarians predicted that as many as a 389 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 2: million innocent civilians, many of them poor farmers, would starve 390 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 2: to death. During her visit, Jane Fonda saw proof of 391 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:23,920 Speaker 2: Richard Nixon's lives. She visited the bombed and burned out 392 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 2: river levees. She saw smoldering craters as big as a 393 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,400 Speaker 2: football field wide. She brought a film crew to document 394 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 2: the wreckage. This wasn't a combat mission, it was a 395 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 2: war crime. Unlike most visitors to North Vietnam, Jane traveled alone. 396 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:41,399 Speaker 2: She was shadowed by her translator and a pair of 397 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:44,880 Speaker 2: handlers from the North Vietnamese government. The first few days 398 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,359 Speaker 2: were relaxed, but as the trip wore on, there were 399 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,000 Speaker 2: hints at an upcoming visit to an air defense installation. 400 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 2: Jane tried to brush them aside. She tried to communicate 401 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,440 Speaker 2: that she didn't want to go. She busied herself elsewhere 402 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,159 Speaker 2: until finally it was her last day in Hanoi. On 403 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 2: the morning of that final day, Jane's translator in the North, 404 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:07,280 Speaker 2: Vietnamese handlers burst through her hotel door unannounced, and they 405 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:11,640 Speaker 2: towered over her, insisting on visiting the air defense system 406 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,399 Speaker 2: once again. She tried to refuse, but the implication became 407 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 2: clear it would be much easier to simply cooperate. She 408 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:25,040 Speaker 2: was tired, hungry. She played for time. She delayed, but 409 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,919 Speaker 2: she was at their mercy. She had no choice but 410 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 2: to agree to make the visit, get through it quickly, 411 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:35,440 Speaker 2: and then get back home. At the air defense base, 412 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,480 Speaker 2: Jane gave her a standard speech against the policies of 413 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 2: the Nixon administration to the assembled group. After she was 414 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 2: let outside the view of the weapons, she looked at 415 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:48,119 Speaker 2: her translator and asked if it was safe. Her translator 416 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:50,240 Speaker 2: popped a helmet on her head and ushered her out 417 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 2: to the huge guns. No pictures, Jane pleaded. As she 418 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 2: stepped forward, she forced an awkward smile onto her face 419 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 2: and tried to get through the tour as quickly as possible. 420 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,199 Speaker 2: She was there less than fifteen minutes before returning to 421 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:05,720 Speaker 2: the hotel. The next day, Jane arrived by a plane 422 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,679 Speaker 2: in Paris. She showed a rough cut of her Vietnam footage. 423 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:11,919 Speaker 2: Journalists and the assembled reporters were shocked into silence as 424 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 2: they viewed the bombed out schools and hospitals and destroyed 425 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 2: river levees. She showed the footage again in New York 426 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:22,479 Speaker 2: before it was mysteriously stolen and never to be seen again. 427 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:27,119 Speaker 2: Hold up, some of you listening right now are probably thinking, 428 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 2: what about the whole Jane Fonda betraying the troops story? 429 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,200 Speaker 2: What about the Hanoi Hilton? When do we get to that? Well, 430 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,600 Speaker 2: unfortunately you're not going to find that story here. Why 431 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,080 Speaker 2: because it never happened. Total bullshit. The fact is, during 432 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:43,959 Speaker 2: her visit to Hanoi, Jane Fonda never set foot in 433 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,600 Speaker 2: that prison camp. She did meet with a group of 434 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 2: seven POWs, but their identities weren't secret. In fact, the 435 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 2: North Vietnamese were trumpeting their names to anyone who had listened, 436 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:56,359 Speaker 2: so no one would think they were bluffing, and despite 437 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:58,919 Speaker 2: their names being attached to rumors over the years, the 438 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 2: men who met with Jane all deny they were tortured 439 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:04,240 Speaker 2: or were forced to meet with her. Some of these 440 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,400 Speaker 2: men became anti war activists. Some of these men say 441 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:09,639 Speaker 2: they are not fans of Jane Fonda, but all of 442 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,960 Speaker 2: them have said this story about Jane Fonda betraying American 443 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,880 Speaker 2: troops is a complete fabrication. While a few politicians are 444 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:21,720 Speaker 2: calmness were incensed by Jane's visit to North Vietnam, America, 445 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 2: for the most part in nineteen seventy two didn't notice 446 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 2: it at all. They got a brief mention on page 447 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,480 Speaker 2: nine of the New York Times in the entertainment section, 448 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,800 Speaker 2: and that's pretty much it. It wasn't exactly a groundbreaking 449 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:35,600 Speaker 2: story in nineteen seventy two that someone opposed the war. 450 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:39,440 Speaker 2: By then, everyone opposed the war. So if you want 451 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:41,840 Speaker 2: to find the story of Jane Fonda betraying the troops, 452 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:44,360 Speaker 2: you have to fast forward a bit, all the way 453 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:48,120 Speaker 2: to nineteen eighty seven. By then the reality of Vietnam 454 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 2: was starting to fade, and politicians like Ronald Reagan played 455 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,920 Speaker 2: to their base laying the blame for America's defeat not 456 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 2: on bad policy or leadership, but on spoiled college kids 457 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:03,119 Speaker 2: in liberal Hollywood. Active into this atmosphere, a small movie 458 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:06,399 Speaker 2: called The Hanoi Hilton was released, a fairly paint by 459 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:09,120 Speaker 2: numbers war film about Vietnam that got panned by critics 460 00:28:09,119 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 2: and did diddly at the box office, But thanks to 461 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,920 Speaker 2: newly emerging home video sales, thanks in no small part 462 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,960 Speaker 2: to Jane Fonda and her VHS workout The Hanoi Hilton, 463 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 2: that movie it became a cult classic at VFW hall's 464 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:25,000 Speaker 2: and military bases around the country. In the film, there's 465 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:28,160 Speaker 2: an obvious Jane Vonda stand in that appears halfway through. 466 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 2: She fawns over the North Vietnamese prison leaders. She accuses 467 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 2: the American troops at committing war crimes and demands they apologize. Finally, 468 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:39,960 Speaker 2: she betrays them by passing on their complaints about the 469 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,520 Speaker 2: food to the prison leaders. Several men are being The 470 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 2: woman then returns to her life in Hollywood without a 471 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:49,960 Speaker 2: thought for the damage she's done. Sound familiar. Ever since 472 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,200 Speaker 2: that movie came out, it has slowly melded with Jane 473 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,120 Speaker 2: Fonda's real life activism to the point where it started 474 00:28:56,120 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 2: getting reported as fact, and over the years. Jane thought 475 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,880 Speaker 2: if she worked hard enough, but raised enough money for 476 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 2: veterans and apologized profusely, that she could eventually get her 477 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,560 Speaker 2: haters to move on. She had no idea how wrong 478 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 2: she was. The holding cell was chaos. Inmates moaned and wailed. 479 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:34,240 Speaker 2: Many of them were in need of a fix, or 480 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 2: food or medical attention. Hands clattered against the bars, and 481 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 2: voices screamed out at the guards, or at fellow prisoners, 482 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:44,320 Speaker 2: or at no one at all. Jane Fonda walked into 483 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 2: the cell, where their head held high. Despite the deafening noise, 484 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 2: she was calm. Getting arrested today was hardly a surprise. 485 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 2: In fact, it was the fourth Friday in a row. 486 00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:59,400 Speaker 2: Usually she was given a fine and released. Today, her 487 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 2: lawyer w under things might be different. Her pending charges 488 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 2: from the past few weeks were starting to stack up, 489 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:08,719 Speaker 2: and it was possible she'd be held over night, no 490 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 2: matter what's one night. She found a small opening in 491 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,320 Speaker 2: the bench seat and sat down. Her eighty two year 492 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,480 Speaker 2: old body felt exhausted. Good things. She ate a good 493 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,520 Speaker 2: meal before the protest. It was the only thing keeping 494 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:26,640 Speaker 2: her going. A few weeks earlier, Jane Fonda moved to 495 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,680 Speaker 2: DC to kick off what she called fire Drill Fridays. 496 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 2: Inspired by the young climate activist Greta Thunberg, she was 497 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 2: recommitting herself to direct street level activism. Every Friday, with 498 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 2: a growing crowd of supporters and a handful of famous friends, 499 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:47,000 Speaker 2: Jane protested outside the capital to raise awareness about climate change. 500 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 2: And every week, like clockwork, the police would swarm in 501 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 2: and haul everyone off to jail. And every time they 502 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,240 Speaker 2: did it, the crowd came back the following week bigger 503 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 2: than before. Today was no different. After about twenty minutes 504 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:02,440 Speaker 2: of chanting, the cops gave their first warning. After the 505 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,520 Speaker 2: second warning, a gap began to emerge between those who 506 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 2: were and those who were not willing to have their 507 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 2: day ruined by going to jail. Jane kept at it, 508 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 2: thirty supporters standing beside her. The police swarmed into the crowd. 509 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,360 Speaker 2: Jane knew they were making a bee line for her, 510 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,800 Speaker 2: and they zip tied her hands behind her back. If 511 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 2: only she was still flexible enough to slip the cuffs 512 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:24,360 Speaker 2: and flash that power to the people. 513 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 1: Salute. 514 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 2: Hard to believe that in twenty nineteen, almost fifty years 515 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:31,880 Speaker 2: since she'd been arrested on a bogus drug smuggling charge. 516 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:36,320 Speaker 2: Jane Fonda was being arrested again all the time, and 517 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 2: all that controversy in between, but somehow through it all, 518 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 2: she'd never been arrested again until now. Not that some 519 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 2: didn't think she should be in jail. There were a 520 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 2: few here today and just a small group as usual, 521 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 2: Two or three counter protesters holding up signs that read 522 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:58,640 Speaker 2: leave America. Annoyed Jane. Jane still felt pain that she 523 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 2: would never be able to win them over, no matter 524 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 2: how much money she raised, her how many veterans groups 525 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 2: she spoke with, or how many times she apologized. Some 526 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,360 Speaker 2: people would always see her as the sex symbol from Barbarella. 527 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,040 Speaker 2: Some people would always see her as the villain from 528 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:16,840 Speaker 2: the Hanoa Hilton. You could just never win some people's love. 529 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 2: Like her father, Henry Fonda, passed away back in nineteen 530 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 2: eighty two. Right before he died, Jane produced his final movie, 531 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 2: The Incredible on Golden Pond. She thought the film's father 532 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,120 Speaker 2: daughter plotline might help them hash out some of their 533 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:37,160 Speaker 2: real lifeishers. Once again, she was disappointed on screen, their 534 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 2: chemistry crackled, but once the scene was over, her father 535 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:43,520 Speaker 2: was as cold as ever, and when he died, he 536 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 2: left her nothing in his will. She learned through time 537 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,440 Speaker 2: to forgive him. She also learned to love her own body, 538 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:54,320 Speaker 2: although that took a bit longer. Hardest of all, she 539 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:56,040 Speaker 2: learned that she could live with the fact that some 540 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 2: people would never love her. At eighty two years old, 541 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 2: Jane Fonda felt comfortable in her own skin. She knew 542 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:05,920 Speaker 2: who she was, she knew what she had done, and 543 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,400 Speaker 2: she stood by her work. She stood up and leaned 544 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:12,120 Speaker 2: her back against the prison wall, did a few light 545 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:15,240 Speaker 2: wall squats. Might as well make the best of the time. 546 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,480 Speaker 2: She'd be out soon enough, and then she'd be back 547 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 2: next Friday. I'm Jake Brennan and this is hollywood Land. 548 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,160 Speaker 2: Hollywood Land was created by Years Truly and is produced 549 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:45,040 Speaker 2: in partnership with Double Elvis. Follow like, rate and review 550 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,360 Speaker 2: hollywood Land wherever you get your podcasts, and get in 551 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 2: touch with us on social media at double Elvis. If 552 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:52,560 Speaker 2: you like hollywood Land, check out my other show, the 553 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,640 Speaker 2: award winning Disgraceland, which looks at the world of music 554 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 2: through the lens of true crime. Just search for Disgraceland 555 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:07,120 Speaker 2: or wherever you get your podcasts there's there's a lie,