Jane Fonda has shared her joy at the Time’s Up movement against sexual harassment, admitting that she did not think it would happen in her lifetime.
The 80-year-old Hollywood star also said the campaign – launched at the start of this year in response to the wave of sexual abuse allegations in the industry – is more than “just a moment”.
Fonda, who has previously told of how she was raped and has faced sexual abuse, told The Observer Magazine: “I am very grateful to be alive through this.
“I did not think I would live to see it. Yes. And I think that it’s going to continue, it’s not just a moment.
“I love the Time’s Up aspect of it. We’re working with women from all different places. I’m going to DC to lobby with domestic workers. The farm workers up in Bakersfield. It’s all of us together, having each other’s backs.”
She said she feels “very sad that so many girls are abused all over the world and that men don’t understand what it does to them”.
“It’s not something that happens lightly, it can alter a person. And then you have to be very intentional about getting back into your own skin, but it can be done.”
Last year, Fonda revealed she is a rape survivor and suffered sexual abuse as a child, and also that she was once fired from a job because she refused to have sex with her boss.
The two-time Oscar winner has also spoken of the “disease to please” the men in her life in her younger years.
The Time’s Up movement, kicked off by Hollywood stars including Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman and Meryl Streep in January, includes a legal fund to help women protect themselves from sexual misconduct and advocates for legislation to tackle workplace harassment.
It prompted the wearing of black in solidarity with victims of sexual abuse at the film awards ceremonies earlier this year.
Fonda, who appears in the new film Book Club, also expressed her surprise at her success while being an octogenarian.
She said at 65 she did not think she would have a career and a “hit TV show”, referring to her Netflix series Grace and Frankie.
“I’m 80! I keep pinching myself! I can’t believe it! I didn’t think I would live this long!” she said.