Donald Trump is throwing himself a birthday party fit for a dictator — and the A-list is not having it.
The president is hosting an exclusive, open-air UFC event on the South Lawn of the White House, estimated to cost upwards of $60 million. But while Trump and his guests settle in for a night of fighting, artists and celebrities are staging their own counter-programming across the country.
Jane Fonda is headlining "Rise Up Sing Out," a benefit concert at New York City's Town Hall on June 14. The 88-year-old activist is appearing with Bette Midler, Patti Smith, Rufus Wainwright, and political commentator Joy Reid.
Fonda has revived the Committee for the First Amendment — a protest group originally founded during the McCarthy era by her father, Henry Fonda — to oppose what she calls Trump's fascism. All ticket proceeds will benefit the organization.
The Town Hall venue has historical significance: it is where birth control advocate Margaret Sanger was arrested at an educational meeting in the 1920s.
Fonda has been direct about her mission. At an ACLU event last year, she said: "It's not [just] Trump. If Trump died, we'd get another one like him." She emphasized that protests alone are insufficient — the entertainment industry must organize serious resistance.
Watch parties are being planned across the country. While Trump celebrates with UFC spectacle, Hollywood's opposition is organized and mobilized.
