Jane Fonda: Hanoi Jane photo was a 'huge mistake'

The actress says she regrets having posed for the controversial picture taken during the Vietnam War

Helen Nianias
Tuesday 20 January 2015 13:12 GMT
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Jane Fonda sings anti-war songs by a North Vietnam anti-aircraft gun in Hanoi,  in 1972
Jane Fonda sings anti-war songs by a North Vietnam anti-aircraft gun in Hanoi, in 1972

Jane Fonda has said that she regrets the notorious "Hanoi Jane" picture of her posing with enemy troops during the Vietnam war.

"It hurts me and it will go to my grave that I made a huge, huge mistake that made a lot of people think I was against the soldiers," she said of the 1972 picture on Saturday.

The actress and workout guru, 77, drew a crowd of protesters to her public appearance in Maryland. The crowd included 50 military veterans, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and many carried signs saying: "Forgive? Maybe. Forget? Never."

"Whenever possible I try to sit down with vets and talk with them, because I understand and it makes me sad," Fonda said.

"I'm a lightning rod," she added. "This famous person goes and does something that looks like I’m against the troops, which wasn’t true, but it looked that way, and I’m a convenient target. So, I understand."

Fonda previously clarified her position on the Vietnam war in 2011 in a Huffington Post blog, saying that critics "perpetuate the myth that being anti-war means being anti-soldier."

Local paper the Frederick News-Post reported that Fonda said she did not regret her time in Vietnam, saying it was an "incredible experience".

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