Julia Roberts Joins Fonda's First Amendment Concert
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- Julia Roberts, Lily Gladstone, Wilson Cruz, and Peppermint are joining the June 14 "Rise Up, Sing Out" concert at Town Hall in New York City, expanding a bill that already includes Jane Fonda, Bette Midler, Patti Smith, Joy Reid, Rufus Wainwright, and Broadway Inspirational Voices.
- The concert is set for Sunday, June 14 — Flag Day — with doors at 6:45 p.m. ET and the show at 7:30 p.m. ET, and will be available free via livestream, with tickets on Ticketmaster or the concert website.
- The Committee for the First Amendment, the beneficiary of all proceeds, is a coalition of artists, storytellers, and cultural leaders defending free expression against government repression, industry complicity, and intimidation.
- Fonda relaunched the committee last October — reviving a McCarthy-era initiative originally founded in the 1940s, of which her father Henry Fonda was an original member — and drew backing from more than 550 A-listers including Barbra Streisand, Billie Eilish, Viola Davis, Pedro Pascal, and John Legend.
- Fonda framed the show as a response to threats against democratic rights, saying "we can't sit idly by while our rights are at stake" and calling song "one of our most powerful weapons" in the fight.
- The production team is led by director Schele Williams, music director Mary Mitchell Campbell, writer Bess Kalb, and producers Bruce Cohen and rigor + ruckus (Robb Nanus, Heather Shields & Rachel Sussman).
Why it matters: The June 14 show converts Hollywood's free-speech coalition — 550+ names from Fonda's October relaunch — into a tangible fundraising vehicle on Flag Day, with all proceeds going directly to the Committee for the First Amendment's legal and advocacy work against what Fonda describes as government repression and industry complicity.
