Jane Fonda’s suggestion on Friday’s “The View” that “murder” could be an option to resolve the rise of GOP-led abortion laws fired up more than a few people on social media, but the Oscar-winning political activist insists her comment was “obviously made in jest.”
“While women’s reproductive rights are a very serious issue and extremely important to me, my comment on ‘The View’ was obviously made in jest. My body language and tone made it clear to those in the room — and to anyone watching — that I was using hyperbole to make a point,” Fonda said in a statement.
She continued: “Women across the country are facing real threats when it comes to our bodies, and people lose faith in our mission to protect women when others choose to focus on tangential issues and passing jokes instead of the actual problem at hand.”
Fonda and Lily Tomlin appeared on “The View” to discuss their upcoming film “Moving On” when Fonda was asked to share her opinion of anti-abortion legislation that has swept the country over the last couple of years.
“We have experienced many decades now of agency over our body of being able to determine when and how many children to have,” Fonda began, which you can see in the clip at the top. “We know what that feels like, we know what that’s done for our lives. We’re not going back. I don’t care what the laws are. We’re not going back.”
“Besides marching and protesting, what else do you suggest?” co-host Behar jumped in and asked.
“Well, I think murder,” Fonda responded.
The audience chuckled.
“What did you say?” Lily Tomlin asked.
“Murder,” Fonda repeated.
In haste, Behar told the audience and viewers watching Fonda was merely joking, despite Fonda’s “uh, no I wasn’t” expression.
“She’s kidding. Wait a second, she’s kidding. You don’t know, they’ll pick up on that and run with it,” Behar repeated in an attempt to squash that headline-making comment before it went too far.
Nearly half of the states have some sort of ban on abortion following Roe v. Wade being overturned in June 2022, regardless of the majority of the country believing abortion should be legal.
