Screen legend Jane Fonda is opening up about being raped and sexually abused as a child.
Speaking with Brie Larson in an interview for NET-A-PORTER.com’s digital magazine, The EDIT, Fonda, 79, discussed the “extent to which a patriarchy takes a toll on females” with Larson, revealing for the first time that she is the victim of rape.
“I’ve been raped, I’ve been sexually abused as a child and I’ve been fired because I wouldn’t sleep with my boss,” she says. “I always thought it was my fault; that I didn’t do or say the right thing.”
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“I know young girls who’ve been raped and didn’t even know it was rape. They think, ‘It must have been because I said ‘no’ the wrong way,'” she says.
In the interview with Larson, who is an advocate for victims of sexual abuse, Fonda explains that her difficult past has led her to become a passionate activist for women’s rights.
Two-time Oscar-winner Fonda is an advocate for the V-Day movement which works to stem violence against women and girls. She’s also an active campaigner when it comes to teen pregnancy prevention, establishing the Jane Fonda Center For Adolescent Reproductive Health in 2001.
Through her advocacy work, Fonda strives to help victims “realize that [rape and abuse is] not our fault. We were violated and it’s not right.”
The star’s interview with The EDIT , comes on the heels of an awards season in which Larson, an outspoken advocate for sexual abuse survivors, gave Best Actor Oscar winner Casey Affleck a frosty reception. Larson, who won the Oscar for her role as a rape survivor for last year’s “Room”, found herself face-to-face with Affleck – who was accused of sexually harassing two women – throughout awards season as tradition dictates the previous year’s Best Actress winner awards the new Best Actor winner. At the Oscars, she cordially gave Affleck a hug when he first took the stage, but refused to applaud the actor during his acceptance speech, looking visually unimpressed with his win.
To see The EDIT’s full interview with Jane Fonda go to https://www.net-a-porter.com/magazine/391/16 or download the free EDIT app at the App Store and Google Play.
Fonda is currently starring in the Netflix comedy “Grace & Frankie” which launches its third season on March 24.
