Jane Fonda on Big Oil-Backed Politicians: 'Vote Them Out'

Throughout city ​​of Los Angeles—a stone's throw from children's bedrooms, playgrounds, office buildings, and places of worship—is an oil well, emitting toxins that put nearby residents at risk of asthma attacks, reproductive problems, and multiple types of cancer. The evidence piling up against Big Oil is alarming, and after more than 130 years since drilling began in the city of flowers and sunshine, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to phase out drilling in January 2021.

In response, oil and gas companies collected several signatures for a referendum to challenge the legislation. Now, it's up to voters in November to decide whether or not the protective ban will cross the finish line. As Big Oil continues to pour millions of dollars into propaganda to sway public opinion, a clear-eyed Jane Fonda and her allies are fighting back.

“If you can't change people – change people, vote them out, replace them with climate champions. That's my plea for this year,” Fonda said Rolling rockdays before a benefit to raise money for the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California, a grassroots initiative working to protect the environmental safety ban and oppose the referendum.

“The fossil fuel industry is a wounded beast right now,” he continued. “The oil is running out without anyone doing anything. Fossil fuels are on their way so they are drilling everywhere as fast as they can to try to get every last drop of natural gas or oil as fast as they can to increase their profits. It's really dangerous right now and we have to stop them.” He continued: “This is not just happening in California. I've seen it all over the country, right in the middle of Denver, Commerce City, surrounded by pollution from this industry. No one helps them. We have to stop them.”

Fonda has been an activist for more than 50 years, starting with the anti-war movement, and she gathered some of the biggest names in Hollywood and politics for an art auction at Gagosian's Beverly Hills outpost on Tuesday to do just that. Mayor Karen Bass, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, Maria Shriver, Derek Blasberg, Mary Steenburgen, Katherine Ross and showed up to support the cause. Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, who performed an intimate set for the crowd, were also in attendance.

In a staged room, works by Frank Gehry, Ed Ruscha, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Charles Gaines, Nan Goldin, Alex Israel, Marilyn Minter, Christina Quarles, Kenny Scharf and Joey Terrill are on display. “The only principle I work with is justice. Our system, our nation, our planet — it should give everyone a fair chance at a decent life. Anything that prevents that from happening, I want to resist,” artist Shepard Fairey said when discussing his motivation to join Fonda's rallying call. Fairey, who founded Obey, will be contributing artwork to auction in the coming months and has created iconic artwork for the Obama campaign, Black Lives Matter and the Women's March in the past.

By the end of the night, the ticketed event had raised more than $10 million — and to date, $17 million.

“What you see here tonight is us coming together to stand against a terrible environmental injustice and an attack on democracy by Big Oil,” Fonda said, addressing the crowd. “They are trying to do it in other states and we have to show that they can be beaten. We in California have to beat them.”

As a reminder of what was at stake, Fonda invited 22-year-old activist Nalleli Cobo, a cancer survivor who grew up next to an oil well, to share her story. “I am living proof of the interaction of climate and health,” Cobo began. “I was diagnosed with stage two reproductive cancer a month after I turned 18 and was forced to choose between my reproductive system and my life. I'm here, but I'm fighting every day so that this decision ends with me.”

“I believe everyone has the right to breathe clean air regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion or zip code,” he continued. “Clean air is a basic human right.”

As people gathered their coats and purses to leave, filtering back into the streets of Los Angeles, Fonda's advice from an earlier conversation resonated: “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together… There are enough of us that if we come together and do it together, we can win.”

Additional works of art will be auctioned at Christie's Postwar and Contemporary Art Sale Day in May. The Gagosian's Beverly Hills gallery will present a second body of work in a summer exhibition.