Invited by the Austrian institution for the famous Viennese ball, the 85-year-old American actress asked for the termination of the sponsorship agreement with the local company OMV, partner of the Russian Gazprom.
American actress Jane Fonda, guest of honor at the Vienna Opera Ball, called on the prestigious institution on Wednesday February 15, 2023 to cut its ties with the oil industry, described as “criminal” by the climate activist.
“These companies are killing people”
“I discovered” that the Austrian hydrocarbon company OMV “is one of the sponsors of the ball”she said at a press conference in Vienna, where she arrived on Monday on a commercial flight. “I’m sorry to hear that. These companies are criminals, they’re killing people, they’re killing the planet,” he said. judged the 85-year-old star.
For Jane Fonda, they are trying to restore their image, to “to make themselves socially acceptable by donating money to museums and operas”. “We cannot allow this. The Vienna Opera is fantastic, make sure it stops being supported by an oil company,” she told reporters.
As pressure mounts on cultural institutions linked to companies exploiting fossil fuels, the Royal Opera House in London announced in January the end of its 33-year contract with the oil giant BP.
The actress also interfered in geopolitics by saying her “anger” against Russian President Vladimir Putin and saluting “the courage of the Ukrainian people and their extraordinary leader” Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comedian who has “knew how to rise to the occasion”.
“Draw attention”
The company OMV, which is also a historical partner of the Russian gas giant Gazprom, replied in a playful tone, inviting Jane Fonda “to discuss the development of OMV, if she has time”, according to a tweet from spokesperson Andreas Rinofner.
For his return to the United States, OMV is making its renewable aviation fuel available to him, he told AFP. Contacted, the Vienna Opera did not respond immediately. A cinema icon who has become a pacifist, feminist and then environmental activist since the 1970s, Jane Fonda has also taken the side of those who stick to the asphalt to raise awareness.
She was asked about the movement Letzte Generation (Last generation) which is organizing a series of traffic blocking actions this week in Vienna. “I know a lot of people are annoyed but I completely understand why young people are engaging in such drastic actions,” commented the one who was arrested several times for protesting against the immobility of political leaders.
Facing “chaos” who watches, facing “this crisis that could mean the end of civilization”everything must be done to “draw attention”, the Oscar-winning actress insisted energetically. Jane Fonda will star on Thursday evening at the very posh Opera Ball, which is making a comeback after a two-year forced hiatus linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coming to Vienna at the invitation of Austrian real estate magnate Richard Lugner – “because they pay me handsomely”money used to finance her actions against climate change -, she “won’t dance”. “I have prostheses in one shoulder, hips and knees. I am old and in danger of falling apart”she smiled.