Actress Jane Fonda appeared to suggest on “The View” Friday that people “murder” pro-lifers.
Fonda declared that society “will not go back” to a pre-Roe v. Wade world after the Supreme Court overturned the ruling in the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. She then appeared to suggest “murder” in response to co-host Joy Behar’s question about other methods besides protesting, however it’s unclear if it the comment was intended as a joke.
“Besides marching and protesting, what else do you suggest?” Behar asked.
“Well, I think murder,” Fonda replied.
“What did you say?” fellow “Grace and Frankie” actress Lily Tomlin asked.
“Murder,” Fonda repeated.
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Behar then told Fonda that pro-lifers will “pick up on that” and use it against her. She then repeatedly emphasized that the actress is only kidding. (RELATED: Jean-Pierre Falsely Tells ‘The View’ That Abortion Will Be ‘Completely Banned’ Under Sen. Graham’s Proposal)
Fonda gave Behar a weary look when she suggested her comment is a joke, sparking laughter from the audience and fellow co-hosts.
After immense backlash from pro-lifers and conservatives, Fonda released a public statement saying she used “hyperbole” to make her case.
“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,” she said in a statement obtained by the Daily Caller. “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. 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, a known liberal activist throughout several decades, said she was “sickened” by the overturn of Roe v. Wade and called to “mobilize women” in the midterm elections.
“I am sickened! Really? The United States of America has joined with backward countries who still have these almost medieval views of the role of women? It’s beyond shocking. It’s kind of unbelievable. I’m hoping it will mobilize women to vote this November. I’m hoping it will galvanize progressive people to vote because of what’s at stake. But the Supreme court has lost credibility, it has become a right-wing swamp. A swamp,” she said, according to Le Monde.
Following the leak of the Dobbs decision in May, pro-abortion activists firebombed and vandalized pro-life organizations and pregnancy centers throughout the U.S. The FBI made no reported arrests following the violent attacks.