Jane Fonda's inmates 'mildly impressed' by her career

Jane Fonda, who has been arrested and jailed several times, has spoken about her time in prison.

"I was the only white person there," the 86-year-old told Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson on the podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name, about her most recent arrest time in jail, in 2019.

"A lot of other prisoners, Black women could have cared less who I was. They had far more important things to think about and none of them had seen any of my movies."

She added of her 2005 rom-com with Jennifer Lopez, "They had seen Monster-in-Law. I pulled that card and they were mildly impressed, but not really. They went right back and talked about what they were dealing with - which was survival issues. It was an eye-opener."

The actress, who has been arrested five times, is known for her activism work. In 2019, she was arrested for crowding, obstructing, or incommoding while raising awareness about global climate change with a public protest.

"There's something very liberating about engaging in civil disobedience," she said. "It's like putting your whole body on the line where your deepest values are, and you don't get many chances in life to do that."

She revealed what it was like being in a jail cell, saying, "There's a flat, metal thing that you sleep on and you use anything you have. A sweater, a coat, anything to soften it a little bit. And meantime, down the hall, nothing but screams. Psychotic breaks are happening. Guys are screaming and screaming and banging the doors."