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“Good evening, everyone, and welcome to all of you who couldn’t get tickets to the White House wars.”
That was it Robert De NiroThe first opening was when he spoke at the Rise Up, Sing Out: Concert for the First Amendment held in New York on Sunday night. Thrown by the First Amendment Committee and the Co-executive made up of Jane FondaThe two-and-a-half-hour show served as a celebration of free speech, protesting the violent push of Donald Trump and his agenda. Ironically, it happened at the same time as the White House UFC match that a A very different kind of free speech was on display.
Here at Manhattan’s Town Hall (chosen for its history with the suffragette movement), the event brought together Trump’s fiercest opponents, from Fonda to De Niro, to. Bette Midler and many activists from different areas who complain about the state of US politics and the policies of the 47th president.
“I don’t like a country that is being led by racist, sexist, xenophobic people,” De Niro said. without pulling any punches.
Speaking at a concert after the finale of his 25th annual Tribeca festival earlier in the day, the actor continued to be candid about his feelings on Trump.
“When I hear Trump say, as he did a few days ago‘I don’t think about the American economy, one bit,’ I said, ‘Shut up,’” said De Niro, as the last four words became a refrain from the audience.
Fonda’s voice was soft but fiery. “The government and its allies are constantly violating the first law to ban artists, closing institutions like the Kennedy Center and defunding museums,” he said.
Conservation is in Fonda’s blood. The event opened with a reminder of the work of his father Henry Fonda as one of the first members of the First Committee, which was established in support of the Hollywood Ten; Cartoonist who was singled out by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1947 for his alleged communist views.
The First Amendment Committee was revived by Fonda in 2025 after Trump won a second term.
“The biggest difference from the last century is that the violence is coming from all levels of government: the executive, the parliament and the supreme court,” he said in his introduction.
“There is an effort to destroy our democratic rights and take over our government… no,” he added. “I think the Committee on Un-American Activities right now is coming from the White House.”
Fonda pointed to “thousands of people” watching the event on live stream, with many parties holding parties and renting out theaters across the country for a cathartic night that features performances from their favorites. Rufus Wainwright (who sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow) and Pat Smith (the singer and poet brought the crowd with his 1988 protest song People Have the Power).
Bette Midler sang Woody Guthrie’s 1944 hit All You Fascists Bound to Lose, with lyrics like “We’re gonna win the middle, we’re coming for his ass.”
“I’m so glad you understand,” Midler told the audience. “I feel like I belong to a group of people who are very happy, intelligent, rational, and have a desire for justice.
Meanwhile, various speakers discussed the marquee topics. Lily Gladstone, an actress who was raised on the Blackfeet Reservation, spoke about her Native American and New York heritage.
“For many Americans, this time of division, stolen speech, broken promises, broken families, risking everything you have for the right to be who you are, can feel like never before,” Gladstone said. “You might be thinking, ‘How did we get here? To the first people of this world, unfortunately, this has been happening since the birth of this world as we know it today.'”
Elsewhere, Julia Roberts he also read a poem from Amanda Gorman in honor of Renée Good, the 37-year-old who was shot and killed by ICE in Minneapolis earlier this year.
“Renée Nicole Good was not a brand,” Roberts said. “She was an American woman, a foolish woman, who was doing everything she could to be good in an unjust world. I am honored to celebrate her life and her legacy, because the life she gave is our responsibility to carry.”
Actor Wilson Cruz and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Peppermint also highlighted LGBTQ+ issues in light of Pride month. “We live in an era where surveillance is dangerous for many Americans,” he said. “Children who deserve to be comfortable in their own truth are threatened by a government that cares more about policing their bodies than feeding them.”
There were also children who were arrested (who led the audience in singing) and three different religious leaders, including Rabbi Rachel Tomoner from Congregation Beth Elohim.
He said: “As American Jews, we have lived in a country that has recognized and protected our religion and all other religions as a valid evidence of faith. We have been grateful to live in a country that has protected us and others from the coercion of any religion by the government.” These two ideals, freedom to practice our religion and freedom from religion, are essential to our security and our being in America.”
After the night ended, Fonda presented a number of things that would help supporters, including a call for representatives to stop The combination of Paramount and Warner Bros.
“We have sung loudly, and now it is time to wake up,” he said happily.
