On Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, a legendary crew of Hollywood pioneers—led by Jane Fonda—gathered far from Washington for a night of counterprogramming. The president was busy Sunday hosting his extravagant “UFC Freedom 250” cage fighting event on the White House lawn. Meanwhile, Oscar winner Fonda stood with grassroots organizations and recently detained teenagers in New York City for “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment.”
“I think that there is a shift in the zeitgeist,” Fonda told VF moments before stepping out on stage. “His name is coming off the Kennedy Center. Just the response to what we’re doing tonight—I’m just floored by it.”
Others were just as proud, albeit less graceful with their language. “When I hear Trump say, as he did a few days ago, ‘I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,’ I say, shut the fuck up,” Robert De Niro said later, encouraging the screaming crowd to repeat it back. “When Trump said, ‘I love the inflation,’ now say it with me: shut the fuck up. Trump said he won the 2020 election. Ready? Shut the fuck up.”
Fonda’s second annual celebration, hosted by the Committee For the First Amendment, took place at the historic Town Hall, a midtown mainstay that was founded in 1921 by suffragists. A crowd of mostly older Americans surged in with signs that reflected the stage set itself: protest placards and banners framed a large screen that projected anthems throughout the concert. Some read “We will not be silenced,” while others were an urgent plea: “Defend the constitution.”
Ayo Edebiri makes a surprise appearance onstage, reminding people of the upcoming midterms and urging people to vote.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
The concert was livestreamed nationwide to 5,000 registered watch parties. “There could be as many as a million people watching this,” Fonda told VF—and at least 200,000 viewers streamed it on No Kings’ Youtube alone. Fonda had amassed a star-studded crew: Bette Midler, Julia Roberts, Joy Reid, Patti Smith, Rufus Wainwright, Tessa Thompson, Lily Gladstone, and all Ayo Edebiri showed up to support the cause. The night kicked off with a group of activists encouraging the audience to sing: “Rise up, we’re gonna rise up,” they belted, smashing tambourines and twirling in circles. “We ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around, because the people united will stand our ground.”
When their chorus ended, Fonda herself appeared on the stage in a bright red suit and a shirt bedazzled with the word RESIST. “The government and its cronies is routinely violating the First Amendment to silence artists, shuttering institutions like the Kennedy Center, defunding the arts, banning books, canceling TV hosts that speak out,” she told the booing crowd. “It’s really bad, and it’s being allowed by cowardly corporations.”
