Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin
“Grace and Frankie” stars demonstrate
Lily Tomlin (left) and Jane Fonda hold their strike shirts up to the camera.
© imago/ZUMA Wire
Two true icons have joined the cast’s strike: Grace and Frankie stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
The Hollywood actors’ strike has garnered more prominent support: Jane Fonda, 85, and Lily Tomlin, 83, have joined the strike called by actors’ union SAG-AFTRA.
Together, the acting icons walked down Sunset Boulevard with their union colleagues and posed for photographers. As can be seen on videos and photoswas also joined by her Grace and Frankie co-star June Diane Raphael, 43.
Fonda, who is also known for her activism about climate protection, explained the “Hollywood Reporter”: “I think they have to listen to us. They have to agree to come back to the negotiating table and be reasonable because what we are asking is reasonable. Your refusal to negotiate these things is really bad.” She went on to tell reporters, “Netflix made a huge profit last quarter. Have you seen the houses they live in? Have you seen the vacations they take?”
Fonda and Tomlin, who co-starred in seven seasons of the Netflix series Grace and Frankie, also supported the writers’ strike in Hollywood. This is the first double strike by actors and screenwriters in the United States in more than 60 years.
Jane Fonda: “Strike for all sectors”
Fonda explained the increase in strikes with the income inequality, which has therefore never been so great. “Therefore there is a real increase in strikes and unionization in all different sectors. And what we are fighting for here is really for all workers in all sectors.”
Tomlin also supports the strike with full conviction: “It means a lot to our fellow actors that we speak up,” the Emmy winner told The Hollywood Reporter.
The actors’ union SAG-AFTRA had called its members on strike seven days ago because they could not agree on a new three-year contract for television and cinema films with the studios and streaming providers. The main topics are therefore artificial intelligence and remuneration through streaming services.