Eighty years after Hollywood legends first banded together to fight political blacklists, their children and artistic heirs are picking up the same banner, convinced that an old threat to free expression has found new life.
In a move that echoes through the corridors of both history and current headlines, Jane Fonda has relaunched the Committee for the First Amendment, reviving the McCarthy-era initiative started by her father, Henry Fonda, and a constellation of 1940s stars.
The newly reformed committee, supported by more than 550 figures in the entertainment industry, claims the federal government is once again waging a “coordinated campaign to silence critics” across the media, judiciary, academia, and the arts.
In a statement, the group declared, “Those forces have returned. And it is our turn to stand together in defense of our constitutional rights.”
The committee’s relaunch was directly inspired by recent events that have shaken the entertainment world, particularly the temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after pressure from a government official.
The show was preempted by ABC and several major station operators shortly after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr publicly discussed the network taking action against Kimmel for his monologue about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
On a commentator’s podcast, Carr stated, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” suggesting companies should “change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel.”
This intervention struck many as contradictory for a regulator who has frequently posted on social media that “censorship is the authoritarian’s dream.”
Carr later denied his comments were a threat to pull broadcast licenses, telling reporters at the Concordia Summit that Kimmel’s situation was related to ratings and not the federal government.
For 87-year-old Jane Fonda, this moment carries a profound personal and historical weight.
“I’ve seen war, repression, protest, and backlash. I’ve been celebrated, and I’ve been branded an enemy of the state,” Fonda wrote in a letter inviting peers to join the committee. “But I can tell you this: this is the most frightening moment of my life.”
The original Committee for the First Amendment was formed in 1947 during the post-World War II “Red Scare.”
It was a response to the House Un-American Activities Committee, which was investigating Hollywood for alleged communist influence.
The Committee for the First Amendment was initially created during the McCarthy Era, a dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs. They targeted elected officials, government employees, academics, and artists. They were blacklisted, harassed, silenced, and even imprisoned. The McCarthy Era ended when Americans from across the political spectrum finally came together and stood up for the principles in the Constitution against the forces of repression.
That first committee included luminaries like Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland, who rallied to defend their colleagues from being blacklisted, harassed, and silenced.
The new committee’s supporters include a who’s who of modern entertainment — from Spike Lee, Aaron Sorkin, and Viola Davis to musicians Billie Eilish, John Legend, and Barbra Streisand, and actors such as Pedro Pascal, Natalie Portman, and Kerry Washington.
The entertainment industry professionals insist their mission is not a partisan one.
“Free speech and free expression are the inalienable rights of every American of all backgrounds and political beliefs — no matter how liberal or conservative you may be,” the committee’s statement reads. “The ability to criticize, question, protest, and even mock those in power is foundational to what America has always aspired to be.”
The group also issued a warning to corporate entities, stating, “To those who profit from our work while bowing to government censorship, and cowering to brute intimidation: we see you, and history will not forget.”
With Kimmel back on the air but the debate far from over, this revived committee signals that a new, organized front in the battle over free speech in the entertainment industry has just begun.
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