Man spits tobacco juice on Jane Fonda at book signing

Associated Press ^ | April 20, 2005 | TIM CURRAN

[presidio9]

A man spit tobacco juice into the face of actress Jane Fonda after waiting in line to have her sign her new book, police said. The man ran off but was quickly caught by police Tuesday night and charged with disorderly conduct.

Fonda has been on tour and doing interviews to promote her just-published memoir, "My Life So Far." The thrice-married, two-time Academy Award winner covers a wide array of topics, including her 1972 visit to Hanoi to protest the Vietnam War, during which she was photographed on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun. She has apologized for that photo, but not for opposing the war.

Capt. Rich Lockhart of the Kansas City Police Department said that although Fonda did not want to press charges against Michael A. Smith, 54, of Kansas City, he was arrested on a municipal charge of disorderly conduct after off-duty officers caught him just outside Unity Temple, where Fonda was signing books.

Lockhart said Smith was released on bond late Tuesday night and is due to appear in municipal court on May 27.

Smith, a Vietnam veteran, told The Kansas City Star on Wednesday that Fonda was a "traitor" and that her protests against the war were unforgivable. He said he normally does not chew tobacco but did so Tuesday solely to spit juice on the actress.

"I consider it a debt of honor," he told The Star for a story on its Web site, www.kansascity.com. "She spit in our faces for 37 years. It was absolutely worth it. There are a lot of veterans who would love to do what I did."

Fonda drew a crowd of about 900 for her appearance, said Vivian Jennings, whose Rainy Day Books of suburban Fairway, Kan., sponsored the event at Unity Temple in Kansas City. Fonda, 67, spoke for about 15 minutes, answered questions for another 15, then began signing copies of her book.

Jennings said Fonda received a standing ovation when she came out and when she finished speaking. Alan Tilson, one of those who had his book signed but left before the incident, said the crowd was very "warm and supportive" to Fonda and he was surprised to learn what had happened.

Jennings said the actress never got up from her seat and continued autographing books after the tobacco juice was wiped off.

"The important thing is that she was so calm and so gracious about it," Jennings said of Fonda. "She was wonderful."

Jennings said that the man had a book to which the name "Jody" had been affixed as he approached to have it autographed. She said that when Fonda got the book, she looked up and said, "You're not Jody."

"At that moment, he turned his head quickly and spit a trail of tobacco juice," Jennings said. "He immediately jumped off the stage and started running down the aisle."

Fonda, who flew to Minneapolis Wednesday for another appearance on the book tour she began April 5, issued a statement through Jynne Martin of Random House, which published her book.

"In spite of the incident, my experience in Kansas City was wonderful and I thank all the warm and supportive people, including so many veterans, who came to welcome me last night," Fonda said.

[presidio9]

Nobody cares except you.

[PeterFinn]

Beats hell out of what happened to the POWs in Hanoi when they passed her notes that she promptly turned around and gave to the Commies who then KILLED one of the men by beating him to death.

That bitch can apologize till the cows come home and she'll NEVER make up for betraying America and Americans who were imprisoned and tortured by those animals.

[Doe Eyes]

A lot of people died at the hands of the communist in South East Asia AFTER we left. Maybe if it hadn't been for her and the people who supported her, we could have saved those people.

So how many people could we save in Africa now, if we sent our brave soldiers there? Would you be willing to sacrifice 50,000 young Americans to "fix" Africa?

[PeterFinn]

In other news xrp is more of a newbie than presidio9.

[crz]

Its either as you stated or this site has been over run by a bunch of trolls.

It is clear NOT A F'n ONE of these people know fully well what that witch did...only J Fn Kerry can compare.

[mdittmar]

Blahh,I could care less if some 20 year old idiot throws a pie at Coulter,I revel in a Vietnam Vet spitting chaw in a traitors face,the apple and oranges thing;)

[satan]

Does anybody have his name and address so we can send Thank-You cards and letters?

[freekitty]

She should have been tried for treason.

[presidio9]

LOL, and you got us both beat...

[spetznaz]

If what Jane Fonda did years ago saved some American boy (or girl) from dying in a war with a country who we are now thirty years later, in the process of "making nice" with. Think about it, how would any of us feel if we lost a father/brother/sister in that crap-hole country and now our government wants to cozy up for geographical/monetary gain. No sir, I'm sorry, but I can forgive her for her actions (young dumb and full of...) I just hope she picks a better place to sit next time. .

One of the beautiful things about America is that people have the right to protest things that they personally do not agree with. Hence I have no problem with Jane Fonda having thought 'Nam was a sham and all that. It was well within her rights to do so. However, she changed the ballgame when she flew over to 'Nam and basically became a propaganda piece for our enemies. She recorded radio messages for them, and posed for photographs (including the famous one where she was seated on an AA site used to shoot down USAF planes). She basically became a propaganda piece for the enemy.

There is a huge difference between being against a war, and becoming propaganda/ammo for the enemy.

And I still think that the spittle of that vet who spat on her was wasted on a person like Jane Fonda. She is not even worth the dust off his boots.

Again, it is ok to protest a war. There is freedom of speech and thought in this great nation. However that doesn't mean that one should go overseas and literally help the enemy form a propaganda piece. And even though one doesn't support a war that does not mean they should be acerbic towards the soldiers (guess which people were among the main recipients of J.Fonda's pictures and radio messages ....POWs were. American prisoners of war who were made to believe that their country ahd abandoned them, especially when 'proof' was given in the form of Fonda's radio snippets and showed JFonda in all her glory sitting on AA pads).

She was a traitor. And saying that she was 'young and dumb' doesn't absolve that (in the same way that Johnny 'American Taliban' Walker cannot absolve his criminal and traitorous actions by saying he was 'young and naive').

[John Lenin]

Jane Fonda looking admiringly at an NVA gun crew




Jane Fonda applauding an NVA anti-aircraft gun crew. These guns were used to shoot down American planes and contributed to the deaths of American Airmen.

[conservativebabe]

She's lucky that's all he did to her.

[U S Army EOD]

South Vietnam was a member of SEATO. Regardless of what people think, it was not an internal struggle, as the communist were being supplied by almost every communist country there was. I was there and saw the weapons and munitions. Vietnam was one of the many proxy wars that were being fought between the USA and USSR at that time.

By the way, are you familiar with what SEATO was?

[Americanexpat]

I just wish he hadn't of ran after he spit on her. If you believe in what you do strongly enough stand there like a man.

[U S Army EOD]

Young and dumb, hell, she was older than most of the grunts serving in Vietnam and they knew what they were doing.

[PeterFinn]

(Taking bow!)

Thank you!

Don't like you old timers stealing my newbie rep. (:

[Echo Talon]

I'd love to spit some beechnut in that dudes eyes
and shoot him with my ole forty-five
cause a country boy can survive, country folks can survive.
Hank Williams Jr.
A Country Boy Can Survive

[U S Army EOD]

Notice the mic near her mouth. She was also singing patriotic NVA songs at the time also. She and them had planned the entire thing for some time.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Missouri Man Spits on Jane Fonda ^
	Posted by outlaw1_2003 On News/Activism ^ 04/20/2005 8:30:43 PM EDT · 2 replies · 13+ views Associated Press ^ | 04/20/05 Missouri Man Spits on Jane Fonda KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A man spit tobacco juice into the face of actress Jane Fonda after waiting in line to have her sign her new book, police said. The man ran off but was quickly caught by police Tuesday night and charged with disorderly conduct. Fonda has been on tour and doing interviews to promote her just-published memoir, ``My Life So Far.''
Man spits tobacco juice on Jane Fonda at book signing ^
	Posted by presidio9 On News/Activism ^ 04/20/2005 7:55:39 PM EDT · 35 replies · 471+ views Associated Press ^ | April 20, 2005 | TIM CURRAN A man spit tobacco juice into the face of actress Jane Fonda after waiting in line to have her sign her new book, police said. The man ran off but was quickly caught by police Tuesday night and charged with disorderly conduct. Fonda has been on tour and doing interviews to promote her just-published memoir, "My Life So Far." The thrice-married, two-time Academy Award winner covers a wide array of topics, including her 1972 visit to Hanoi to protest the Vietnam War, during which she was photographed on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun. She has apologized for that photo, but...
Missouri Man Spits on Jane Fonda ^
	Posted by ma bell On General/Chat ^ 04/20/2005 4:39:40 PM EDT · 17 replies · 191+ views yahoo ^ The man ran off but was quickly caught by police Tuesday night and charged with disorderly conduct. Fonda has been on tour and doing interviews to promote her just-published memoir, "My Life So Far." The thrice-married, two-time Academy Award winner covers a wide array of topics, including her 1972 visit to Hanoi to protest the Vietnam War, during which she was photographed on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun. She has apologized for that photo, but not for opposing the war. Capt. Rich Lockhart of the Kansas City Police Department said that although Fonda did not want to press charges...
Man Spits in Jane Fonda's Face at Book Signing ^
	Posted by BornInASmallTown On News/Activism ^ 04/20/2005 3:46:37 PM EDT · 117 replies · 2,546+ views Reuters ^ | 4/20/05 | BornInASmallTown KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - A man who said he was a Vietnam veteran spat tobacco juice in Jane Fonda's face at a Kansas City book signing, police said on Wednesday. The man, 54-year-old Michael Smith, waited in line for about 90 minutes before spitting a "large amount" of tobacco juice into Fonda's face, according to Kansas City police. Smith was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. The 67-year-old Oscar-winning actress was in town as part of a book-signing tour for her newly released autobiography titled "My Life So Far."

[Slings and Arrows]

http://www.snopes.com/military/fonda.asp

The "Slips of Paper" story is an urban legend. No matter - her confirmed actions are enough to classify her as scum.