Jane Fonda to host First Amendment celebration opposite Trump's UFC Freedom 250 event

Jane Fonda will sponsor a First Amendment celebration in New York City to contrast the UFC Freedom 250 events honoring President Donald Trump. The Rise Up, Sing Out concert, hosted by Fonda's Committee for the First Amendment, will take place at The Town Hall and begin at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, with a livestream available. The program features actors and musicians, including Julia Roberts, Lily Gladstone, Bette Midler, Patti Smith and Rufus Wainwright, as part of a decades-long effort by Fonda to defend free expression and democratic norms. Fonda described it as a moment of civic engagement amid a national anniversary.

Fonda's remarks extend to broader battles over media consolidation and environmental policy, as she urged regulators to block Paramount Skydance's 110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. She said that while she appreciates Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, she opposes concessions made to win approval, arguing that creativity suffers when autocrats prevail. Ellison has maintained that the merger would fund quality content and would release about 30 movies annually. The concert is part of Fonda's broader climate and civil-liberties activism, and the documentary Gaslit examines environmental and health impacts of fossil-fuel extraction on communities.