No matter what some readers may think, we do try to keep as much of the politics out of our reporting as much as we can. Obviously, in the current day and age, that becomes increasingly more difficult. And sometimes, it’s unavoidable, as with the drama surrounding Peter Fonda.
For those that don’t know, the last few days of the US political news cycle has been devoted to the actions of the US government separating children from their families as they attempt to come into the US without documentation. As with anything remotely political nowadays, the people seem to be polarized. However, we’ve also seen many in Hollywood speaking out against the policy and making their voices heard by whatever means they have, mostly via social media. One of those people is legendary actor Peter Fonda.
And Fonda has found himself in a bit of hot water in the last 24 hours. Before Trump announced that he was signing an executive order, ending the policy of separating families, Fonda took aim at the President, and specifically his family, in a very heated tweet.
“We should rip Barron Trump from his mother’s arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles and see if mother will will stand up against the giant asshole she is married to. 90 million people in the streets on the same weekend in the country. Fuck,” Fonda wrote in a tweet, which has since been deleted.
As you might imagine, this tweet sent shockwaves through the industry and reached the First Family, themselves, where Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump, Jr, tweeted multiple replies asking for Fonda to be punished for the statement, going so far as to ask Sony to cancel their upcoming film, “Boundaries.”
You see, that’s why we are now covering the story. Because through it all, the conversation had been between Fonda and political pundits. Now, Sony Pictures Classics became involved, with the fate of the film written and directed by Shana Feste hanging in the balance. Even with an apology by Fonda, Sony doesn’t seem to be willing to forgive.
In response to Trump, Jr’s tweets, Sony released a statement:
“Peter Fonda’s comments are abhorrent, reckless and dangerous, and we condemn them completely. It is important to note that Mr. Fonda plays a very minor role in the film. To pull or alter this film at this point would unfairly penalize the filmmaker Shana Feste’s accomplishment, the many actors, crew members and other creative talent that worked hard on the project. We plan to open the film as scheduled this weekend, in a limited release of five theaters.”
If the actor was hoping for support from his studio, then he was mistaken. Clearly, judging by the wording of this statement, Sony is taking the route of cutting ties with Fonda and moving on as quickly as possible. Hopefully, Fonda wasn’t planning on working with them again because it sure does feel like the studio doesn’t really want to be in the Peter Fonda business any longer.
So as it stands now, Fonda is on his own, and Sony is going to move ahead with releasing their upcoming film, which stars Vera Farmiga and Christopher Plummer. As mentioned in the statement, if you’re interested in seeing Fonda on screen, then you can check out “Boundaries” when it opens in limited release this weekend. Until then, if you want to be involved in the political debate that doesn’t seem to end, Fonda’s Twitter is full of interesting thoughts.