On October 1, 2025, Hollywood’s brightest stars and leading voices in the arts came together in a rare show of unity, relaunching a historic organization with a clear message: free speech in America is under threat, and it’s time to fight back. Over 600 creators, led by the indomitable Jane Fonda, signed their names to the rebirth of the Committee for the First Amendment, a group first founded by Fonda’s father, Henry Fonda, during the turbulent Red Scare of the late 1940s.
The new Committee’s statement, published and widely circulated on October 1, doesn’t mince words. It draws a direct line from the infamous McCarthy Era—when government-led blacklists ruined careers and lives—to what its signatories call a new, coordinated campaign to silence dissent across government, media, academia, and entertainment. “This Committee 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 statement reads, echoing the chilling language of history.
Jane Fonda, now 87, is no stranger to controversy or activism. Her leadership of the committee is both symbolic and deeply personal. “I’m 87 years old. I’ve seen war, repression, protest, and backlash. I’ve been celebrated, and I’ve been branded an enemy of the state. But I can tell you this: this is the most frightening moment of my life,” Fonda wrote in her invitation to fellow artists. “When I feel scared, I look to history. I wish there were a secret playbook with all the answers—but there never has been. The only thing that has ever worked—time and time again—is solidarity: binding together, finding bravery in numbers too big to ignore, and standing up for one another.”
The list of names backing Fonda is a who’s who of contemporary culture. Filmmakers like Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, J.J. Abrams, Patty Jenkins, Aaron Sorkin, and Judd Apatow are joined by hit TV creator Quinta Brunson; music icons Barbra Streisand, John Legend, Janelle Monáe, Gracie Abrams, Billie Eilish, Bonnie Raitt, Finneas, Maggie Rogers, and Patti LuPone; comedians Tiffany Haddish and Nikki Glaser; and actors Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, Pedro Pascal, Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Ben Stiller, Florence Pugh, Michael Keaton, Sean Penn, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ethan Hawke, Patrick Stewart, Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. Fran Drescher, fresh off her term as SAG-AFTRA president, is also among the signatories.
The Committee’s relaunch is not just a symbolic gesture. It comes amid a series of high-profile incidents that have sent chills through the creative community. Most notably, in September 2025, ABC suspended production of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after affiliates, reportedly under pressure from the FCC and the Trump administration, stopped airing the show following Kimmel’s comments about the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. The move drew swift condemnation from across the political spectrum, with protests from SAG-AFTRA, the ACLU, and entertainers nationwide. After five days, ABC reinstated the show, but not before former President Barack Obama weighed in on social media: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like. This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent—and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”
The White House, for its part, celebrated Kimmel’s suspension. President Trump called it “great news for America,” and praised FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for his actions, even suggesting that broadcasters’ licenses should be revoked for unfavorable coverage. Carr, a vocal Trump supporter, is set to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee in November, as bipartisan backlash grows over the FCC’s role in the incident.
For those with a sense of déjà vu, the Committee’s warnings are all too familiar. The original Committee for the First Amendment was formed in response to the House Un-American Activities Committee, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose anti-communist crusade upended American life in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Entertainment giants like Lauren Bacall, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Gene Kelly, and Frank Sinatra joined Henry Fonda to push back against what they saw as a grave abuse of government power. Careers were destroyed, reputations smeared, and the climate of fear stifled creative expression for a generation. The McCarthy Era finally waned in the mid-1950s, after public opinion turned against the senator’s tactics.
Today’s Committee is explicit in drawing parallels between then and now. “Those forces have returned. And it is our turn to stand together in defense of our constitutional rights,” the statement declares. The group insists that defending free speech is not a partisan issue: “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 ability to criticize, question, protest, and even mock those in power is foundational to what America has always aspired to be.”
But the Committee’s message is not just for politicians or media executives. It’s a call to action for all Americans, regardless of political persuasion. “We know there is power in solidarity and strength in numbers. We will stand together—fiercely united—to defend free speech and expression from this assault. This is not a partisan issue. That is why we urge every American who cares about the First Amendment—the cornerstone of our democracy—and every artist around the globe who looks to the United States as a beacon of freedom to join us.” The statement ends with a warning to those who “profit from our work while threatening the livelihoods of everyday working people, bowing to government censorship, and cowering to brute intimidation: we see you and history will not forget. This will not be the last you hear from us.”
As the debate over free speech and government intervention intensifies, the Committee for the First Amendment’s revival is a reminder—uncomfortable as it may be—that history has a way of repeating itself. Whether this new coalition will succeed in shifting the national conversation remains to be seen, but their message is clear: the fight for free speech is far from over, and the stakes have rarely felt higher.
