After all this time, Jane Fonda still cannot completely get rid of her “Hanoi Jane” image. Recently she started a blog and said that she’d address some of the rumors, which have gotten out of control thanks to the internet. There are a lot of servicemen and women who fought in Vietnam that are still profoundly upset with her – and a small group recently took to protesting outside of the Manhattan theater where Fonda is performing in the play “33 Variations.”

It’s been decades, but Jane Fonda still can’t shake her “Hanoi Jane” image from the Vietnam War.

About a dozen Vietnam veterans and other protesters on Saturday picketed the theater where the 71-year-old actress is starring in the Broadway play “33 Variations,” telling passers-by that she had once visited their communist enemy in Hanoi.

“Jane Fonda is a traitor,” said Dan Maloney of the Gathering of Eagles, which bills itself as a national, nonpartisan veterans group. “She got on Hanoi radio and called every U.S. serviceman a war criminal.”

Fonda was tagged with the sobriquet “Hanoi Jane” after visiting the North Vietnamese capital in 1972, where she made radio broadcasts critical of U.S. policy and sat on an anti-aircraft gun laughing and clapping, as she describes in her autobiography, “My Life So Far.”

Though she still defends her anti-war activism, Fonda has acknowledged that the incident was “a betrayal” of American forces.

“That two-minute lapse of sanity will haunt me until the day I die,” she wrote.

Fonda currently plays a musicologist in the Moises Kaufman play about reconciliation, set against the woman’s obsession with Beethoven’s 33 variations on a waltz. It marks her return to Broadway after 46 years.

[From the San Francisco Gate via Gossip Rocks]

Jane hasn’t mentioned anything about the protestors in her blog. Emotions obviously run very high on this issue, but I will point out that Fonda did apologize for her actions in her autobiography. I’m not sure what these protestors want from her. The goal of standing outside with signs is to… what? She can’t go back in time. She’s acknowledged the error of her ways. What else should Fonda do at this point? I’m not trying to defend or castigate her; I’m just confused about what the protestors’ purpose is.

In related news, Jane is getting fabulous reviews for her role in “33 Variations” – as is the play in general. Perhaps the protestors are trying to drive down ticket sales – though it doesn’t seem to be working.

Here’s Jane Fonda at the photocall for ‘33 Variations’ held at the New York Theatre Workshop on January 29th. Images thanks to WENN.

Jane Fonda, 71, has gotten in a great deal of hot water for her visit to Hanoi in the summer of 1972. And the rumors about her supposed pro-Vietnam activities have only increased as the Internet has grown. It’s a quick and easy way to pass information – and to distort information and pass that along too. In 1999, several emails started making the rounds claiming that Fonda gave the names of American POWs to the North Vietnamese. The highly-circulated email also claimed American POWs passed crumpled bits of paper to her, which is also untrue.

Jane says she will address all these rumors in her blog, which she recently started in advance of her return to Broadway in “33 Variations” in March.

Yesterday my blog went up online although I’ve been writing blogs almost daily since January 5th. Blogging just to record what’s happening day to day feels different than blogging when there’s starting to be a buzz about the very fact of my blog and people are beginning to actually visit my site.

I haven’t had a chance to read all the feedback and comments that have come in this far but I will over time. As I expected, there are a few people who want to know whether the things that have been said about me over the years, the things that I have been accused of — the Hanoi Jane stuff– are true. There are also those who need to believe they are true and, as a consequence, have nasty things to say. I intend to answer these questions. I would like nothing better than to put these lies and myths to rest once and for all. I will try to do this as soon as possible but these tech rehearsals are really exhausting and I can’t imagine being able to get to it until Sunday. But then, my daughter, Vanessa will be in New York this weekend doing a media training with the Women’s Media Center and Sunday is the day we’ll get to spend some time together, so even getting to it then isn’t a sure thing.

I encourage those folks who want to know about my activities during the Vietnam years to read my book, “My Life So Far.” The chapters entitled ‘Hanoi,’ ‘Bamboo’ and ‘Framed’ deal with all this. There is also an excellent and exceedingly well researched book, “Jane Fonda’s War,” by Mary Hershberger that answers all these questions in great detail.

[From Jane Fonda’s Blog]

Fox News has written several articles on Jane’s Vietnam trip, all of which refute the internet rumors. And it’s important to note that they don’t have any agenda or reason to side with her – she’s very liberal (they’re… not), and her ex-husband (with whom she’s still on good terms) is Ted Turner, the owner and founder of CNN – and Fox’s competition. They acknowledge that she shouldn’t have gone to Vietnam, made a radio address, or posed for pictures. But they clearly point out that the Internet has been a breeding ground for all sorts of urban legends, and Fonda is a great example of that.

It’s also important to note that Jane did apologize over 20 years ago for going to Vietnam. Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to hear what new things she has to say about the fiasco. Her blog is very well-written and honest, without being completely soul-baring. As time has passed I’m sure her thoughts have changed a bit, and she’ll hopefully expand on her previous statements, and also address the Internet rumors herself.

Jane Fonda is shown on 2/2/09 in NY with her dog Tulea “talking on a panel for the re-released film ‘FTA’. A documentary made in 1972 of the Anti-War Touring group ‘Free Theatre Association’.” Credit: WENN

My first thought was “California has a Hall of Fame?” and in my head, the question was asked in Gov. Schwarzenegger’s voice. Which, as it turns out, is entirely appropriate because The California Hall of Fame started out two years ago as the brainchild of Maria Shriver, California’s first lady.

Shriver wanted a way to celebrate both native-born Californians and people who had come to California to work, play, inspire, innovate and live. It’s a nice tribute for a lot of Californian artists, entrepreneurs and icons.

Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Quincy Jones and the late Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel were among those inducted into the California Hall of Fame Monday night.

Also inducted by California Gov. and former film star and governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver during the ceremony at The California Museum in Sacramento were Dave Brubeck, Robert Graham, Jack LaLanne, Dorothea Lange, Julia Morgan, Linus Pauling, Leland Stanford, and Alice Waters.

The California Museum’s Hall of Fame is a program created by Shriver to celebrate Californians “who embody the state’s spirit of inspiration and innovation,” the museum said.

[From United Press International]

The museum put a lot of thought into the event, even gathering up personal papers, childhood mementos and individual awards from the inductees. Nicholson’s childhood report cards were on display, complete with one teacher’s note that Nicholson “needs to show better self control” (which just proves we don’t really change as we get older). Nicholson and Fonda even let the museum borrow their Oscars for a temporary display. It’s a lovely tribute to these icons, and it probably meant a lot to the inductees to be so honored by their home state.

Note by Celebitchy: UPI has a slideshow of the event, which was attended by Clint Eastwood, Quincy Jones, Rita Moreno, and Dave Brubeck among others. Jack LaLanne, 94, still looks awesome! He received a Spirit of California medal direct from Governor Schwarzenegger.

Photo below is of Jane Fonda at the season opening of the Metropolitan Opera on 9/22/08. Credit: PRPhotos.

Actress Jane Fonda, 70, was spouting off last year around this time while promoting Georgia Rule that she wanted to make an erotic movie featuring a woman over 70 and that she had “already mapped out the love scene.” Fonda flirted outrageously with Steven Colbert in an appearance on his show in May, 2007, jumping on his lap and kissing him on the lips. It was assumed that things were going well with her new boyfriend at the time, Lynden Gillis, 75, and that their romance was behind her enthusiasm.

Fonda then said in January that she had “no desire to marry again [or] ever live again full-time with somebody.” She informed us that Gillis lives in Atlanta and she lives in New York and they see each other about 1/2 the time. By April the two were denying split rumors.

Their year-long relationship seems over at this point, and Fonda wants all the rich older men with nerves of steel to know that she’s available, but that she’s not taking any crap. She also hints that Gillis just wasn’t giving her the attention and care she thought she deserved:

Fonda tells the New York Post, “I want someone who is not only a great lover but who is also an old soul. That is mighty hard to find. These younger guys are so shallow they don’t know what I am talking about most of the time.

“Older men seem to think they are riding the crest when they decided to cash in and take it easy once they have hooked up with me, which becomes a burden and a bore.”

[From Starpulse via Gossip Rocks]

Jane Fonda has been married three times, most recently to billionaire Ted Turner. Their marriage ended in divorce after 10 years in 2001.

She’s single again, gentlemen, so line up. It may be hard to tell what she wants exactly, but if you’re rich, devoted to her needs, listen to her without butting in, and try hard enough you may eventually figure it out.

Here’s Fonda looking amazing at the David Yurman Couture Collection Preview on 6/5/08 and at the Tribeca Film Festival on 4/25/08, thanks to WENN.

Say what? Jane Fonda and new BFF/”Vagina Monologues” playwright Eve Ensler appeared this morning on “The Today Show” with Meredith Vieira to promote V-Day, a global awareness campaign that happens every Valentine’s Day. V-Day is a worldwide project that includes readings/performances of “The Vagina Monologues” to build awareness of violence against women. Jane was talking about how she was reluctant to perform the play at first because she hadn’t seen it. “I was asked to do a scene called ‘Cu*t,” she told a shocked Meredith Vieira. “I don’t do cu*t!”

I was watching the broadcast, and let me tell you, I nearly choked on my morning coffee! At first, I thought I’d misheard. But after seeing the video, I can confirm that Jane Fonda dropped the C word on national television. I guess she didn’t want to be outdone by another older actress, Diane Keaton, who let an F-bomb slip on Good Morning America a few weeks ago.

Maybe the TV sensors were asleep this morning? At any rate, I have to admit, it was pretty awesome.

Note by Celebitchy: Thanks to Redlasso for the video clip above. It seems like it’s the hot older chicks who are swearing on the talk shows lately. They must not give a shit.

Charlize Theron might be the sexiest woman alive – but who’s the sexiest old person? Jane Fonda’s working on it, at 69.

I’d like to make “a film about eroticism and ageing - a sexy, sensual film about older women,” Fonda was quoted as saying in the German weekly Die Zeit.

“Unfortunately, I don’t get that many offers anymore [for film roles],” she added.

Fonda said if the movie project does not work out, she would throw herself into a book project she is working on.

“I’m going to write a book about ageing particularly targeted at women. I am doing a lot of interviews for it,” she said.

The Melbourne Age

I like the fact that she uses words like ‘old’ in this interview. I’ve heard people in interviews talk about the elderly, ageing people, sunset years, I even heard someone avoid the word old and use the term geriatric (which seems by far more offensive than the term they avoided). While I might not be inclined to star in an erotic film when I get to Jane Seymour’s age, in fact I’m pretty sure I’ll be keeping my kit on for film even now, there are no Paris sex tapes in my hard drive, I’d still like someone to be appreciating it when I get naked for them. At any age.

This comes hot on the heels of this television ad, featuring two people in their 80’s getting it on in a garden. Is this the last sexual taboo we need to get past? Is Jane Fonda, who was so right about us all needing to exercise back in the 1980’s, now about to educate the world on the pleasures of the wrinkled flesh? She did look pretty fabulous when she appeared au naturel on the cover of Good Housekeeping two years ago.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Jane Fonda is shown at The Metropolitan Opera Opening Night Gala on 9/24/07 thanks to PRPhotos.

Re-making Barbarella? This is surely going to put you in the naughty chair next to the guy who tried to remake King Kong. Robert Rodriguez is going to try, and he’s casting his girlfriend in the lead role. Which probably puts him in the naughty chair as he already has a wife!

A highly reliable source tells Elle.com exclusively that Rose McGowan is slipping into a fur bikini and major bouffant to take on the title role in the remake of Barbarella. Robert Rodriguez, who left his wife after falling for McGowan on the Grindhouse set, is directing and has cast his love in the part made famous by Jane Fonda. While the rumor mill placed everyone from Halle Berry to Kate Beckinsale and Nicole Kidman in the role of Queen of the Galaxy, it seems he’s found the perfect Barbarella in McGowan.

elle.com

Rose McGowan could make her big comeback in the film – not she ever really went away, it’s just it seems some people have found her unrecognisable.

McGowan, 34, has admitted to having plastic surgery for an eye injury related to a car accident. But casting skeptics suspect she has had much more done, and that it cost her the role.

“The studio felt like she was hard to recognize and worried that by the time the movie hit theaters, fans might not know who she was,” says our insider.

A rep for the actress said “she was not pursuing this role.”

NY Daily News

While I sympathise that someone who first became famous for dating Marilyn Manson may want to change their appearance, I actually think she hasn’t had any work done, certainly not enough to make her unrecognisable. She always looked pretty strange to me, even standing next to that weird goth type Manson.

Note by Celebitchy: Rodriguez and McGowan are now engaged, and he is in the process of a divorce. I think she had a lot of work done.

First cute character actor William H. Macy slammed Lohan in a roundabout way by saying that actors who show up late to work should get their asses kicked for making everyone wait and holding up production. Now Jane Fonda is telling Lohan that if she doesn’t slow down and focus on her work she’s going to end up nearly 70 and still worrying that the threeway sex tape she made with her ex-partner is going to be released someday.

In an interview with “Access Hollywood,” Fonda praised studio head James G. Robinson for writing that letter telling Lohan to quit pleading exhaustiong after partying, and then tried to backtrack at the end by saying she just wants to mother Lohan since Dina’s so bad at it, and oh, she’s talented too:

We all know that about Lindsay, and it’s nice to hear straight talk from an established actress.

Everyone also knows that Lindsay Lohan doesn’t wear panties and keeps it all smooth-shaven. (How she doesn’t get those bumps is beyond me. Jenna Jameson wrote in her biography that the porn stars avoid them by using antibiotic ointment after they shave. This works like partially, I’ve uh heard.) I am publishing that crotch shot photo, I really couldn’t pass it up. It’s the first thumbnail at the bottom and is clearly marked.

In related news, Lindsay royally pissed off her “longterm” boyfriend, Pink Taco founder Harry Morton, when she flirted openly with the DJ at a party. She was also said to have given her number out to two different guys at a club last night and to have not hung out with Harry all night. Those two are breaking up any day now.

To the commentor who asked why I keep reporting on Lindsay/Paris/Jessica, they’re low hanging fruit, and stories come out about those skanks every day. Sometimes I resist, sometimes I don’t.

Lindsay is show turning to the side, coughing and showing her goods [via] and getting stalked by photographers outside Cipriani restaurant in London on 9/9. [via]