Activist and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick received high praise over the weekend from another famous protester: actress Jane Fonda.
Ms. Fonda, long maligned by many for her infamous Vietnam War-era “Hanoi Jane” photo, lauded Mr. Kaepernick on Sunday during the ACLU of Southern California’s annual Bill of Rights awards gala in Beverly Hills, where she symbolically passed the torch to the man who started the NFL’s national anthem protests in 2016.
“Colin, you are woke!” Ms. Fonda said to Mr. Kaepernick, who was on hand to receive the organization’s Eason Monroe Courageous Courage Award, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Keep kneeling until you can stand up!” said Ms. Fonda, who once sat on a Vietnamese anti-aircraft battery while U.S. troops were fighting and dying in combat.
Mr. Kaepernick told the audience that he saw himself and other activists as cultural doctors who must “confront systematic oppression” like a disease.
“We all have an obligation no matter the risk, and regardless of reward, to stand up for our fellow men and women who are being oppressed with the understanding that human rights cannot be compromised,” he said.
Other celebrities in attendance included Judd Apatow, Viola Davis and Gina Rodriguez.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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