Jane Fonda is done with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The actress and longtime activist, who has spent most of her life on the far left of American politics, says the mayor’s agenda has gone too far. Speaking at a book event in Manhattan this week, she called his policies “a bridge to communism nobody voted for.”
The room went quiet for a second. Then a few people started clapping.
Fonda said her concern comes from experience. She traveled to Vietnam in the early 1970s, a trip that made her one of the most controversial figures of the era, and she says what she saw there has stayed with her ever since.
“I was against the war, but what I saw over there showed me how evil communists really are,” Fonda said. “They always start out like Mamdani. Free stuff and a big smile.”
She said it scares her to see the same thing creeping into New York. Mamdani won office promising free buses, city-run grocery stores, rent freezes, and higher taxes on the wealthy. Supporters call it a plan to make the city affordable again. Fonda says she has heard pitches like that before.
“Everything sounds wonderful at the beginning,” she said. “Then you look up one day and the government owns your grocery store, your apartment, and your paycheck.”
For a woman nicknamed “Hanoi Jane” by her critics for decades, it was a surprising turn. Many conservatives, who have never forgiven her for the Vietnam trip, didn’t quite know what to do with it. Some welcomed her. Others said the apology was about fifty years late.
“I’ll take it,” one veteran posted online. “Better late than never. But it’s pretty late.”
Fonda made it clear she isn’t leaving the Democratic Party. If anything, she says, she wants to save it from people like Mamdani. She plans to work hard to make sure he loses the next election, and she’s already talking with donors and community groups about backing a challenger.
“It’s for my city. And my party,” said Jane.
Progressives were not happy. Several activists called her comments a betrayal and accused her of siding with billionaires. One Mamdani ally said Fonda was “an out-of-touch millionaire scared of paying her fair share.”
The mayor’s office brushed off the criticism. A spokesperson said Mamdani “respects Ms. Fonda’s long history of activism” but noted that New Yorkers chose his agenda at the ballot box.
Fonda didn’t seem worried about the backlash. She has spent her whole life making people angry, and she said she isn’t about to stop now.
“I’ve been called worse,” she said with a laugh. “Much worse.” She signed books for another hour after the talk, and more than a few people in line thanked her for speaking up. Took her long enough.