Actress Jane Fonda is making headlines after she tried to honor someone close to her, only for the public to twist it and brand her as some kind of finesser.
The 87-year-old legend gave a special shoutout to her billionaire ex-husband, Ted Turner, as she swept the audience away during a recent gala at the Atlanta History Center.
Actress Jane Fonda Recounts the Moment Her Father’s Slap Taught Her the Impact of Using the N-Word
Draped in a glittering black gown at the GCAPP EmPower gala on Nov. 13, Fonda thanked the media mogul-turned-philanthropist for guiding her through one of the toughest chapters of her life — and social media instantly dragged her back into the long-running joke that Fonda has never married broke, and picks her husbands intentionally and for maximum payoff, much like her movie roles.
One moment, the “Coming Home” star was honoring the organization she helped build; the next, she had the internet whispering, wheezing, and wildly speculating.
Nearly 24 years after their split, Fonda got emotional speaking about Turner as though the foundation of their partnership was still holding up pieces of her world.
She said, “It was a very challenging time in Georgia. Had I not been with Ted, this was something, had he not stood by me with his love and support, we never would have survived. Ted’s not here, but he is here in my heart and I know he is here in a lot of our hearts.”
Fonda credited Turner, her ex, a media mogul who founded Turner Broadcasting System and the 24-hour news network CNN, built his wealth through cable TV, advertising, sports team ownership and land holdings, with helping launch and sustain GCAPP, the Georgia-based nonprofit they founded in the ’90s, and reflected on how she had stepped away from Hollywood to build a life alongside him.
Turner, whose estimated net worth is $2.2 billion, wasn’t in the room, but somehow he became the night’s centerpiece because he put up $500,000 as seed money in 1995, according to AJC.
Watching this Ted Turner documentary and Jane Fonda was talking about
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) December 6, 2024
how Ted Turner was in love with her but he pulled out a big calendar showing his roster of women that he can't give up😂😂 pic.twitter.com/zwIoF3Czrt
The Daily Mail readers did not let the moment pass quietly.
One person grumbled, “Seems no one man can put up with her for long. That thing she is in the last picture with might work.”
Another slapped on their own theory, saying, “They realized their mistakes after the honeymoon. She married them for money and gave little effort in return.”
Many agreed that Fonda and Turner looked like the “perfect couple.” But the noise got louder when money entered the chat: “She’s lived off Ted’s money since the divorce,” someone wrote. “The ‘independent’ woman took a boat load of money even though she was a successful ‘movie star.’”
“That was the ‘support’ part of ‘love and support.’ Spousal support,” noted a fourth person.
Ted Turner is definitely one of my heroes. Thinking about how Jane Fonda gave up her acting career to spend her life with Ted (he must have been something). Thinking about how he was the Elon Musk of his generation, but way cooler and a much bigger risk taker—a ***genuine***… pic.twitter.com/T7rTLQIgJr
— letbugslive (@letbugslive) July 26, 2024
One viewer pushed back: “So what? Ted gave her the money and that was his choice and she continued her career as an actress. Grace and Frankie was a terrific series.”
Meanwhile, the Oscar winner’s own story painted a fuller portrait of a woman who didn’t just walk away from a marriage — she walked back into herself.
She admitted she truly believed she would never return to acting, convinced that her life with Turner was the final chapter.
Fonda married Turner on Dec. 21, 1991, in Florida, and they divorced on May 22, 2001. One of the reasons why their almost ten-year marriage fell apart, according to the media mogul , was because she became a Christian.
“She just came home and said, ‘I’ve become a Christian.’ Before that, she was not a religious person,” he said to the New Yorker, “That’s a pretty big change for your wife of many years to tell you. That’s a shock.”
People reported in 2023 that, after leaving Hollywood for 15 years, she never expected to star in successful shows or land film roles well into her 80s. She came back to an industry she once feared she wasn’t beautiful enough for and rebuilt her career on her own.
Away from the glitz of that gala night, Fonda has been disarmingly honest about the insecurities that still trail her. The “Barbarella” actress once revealed she battled body dysmorphia as a young actress, unsure of her beauty or talent, only finding her footing through fitness — the very movement that built her wildly successful workout empire.
Even now, she keeps up the routine, trading heels for sparkly sneakers and embracing the comfort that age and self-acceptance allow.
The Hollywood icon — Fonda is the daughter of Oscar winner Henry Fonda and brother of actor Peter Fonda — has been married three times — first to French filmmaker Roger Vadim (1965–1973), then to activist Tom Hayden (1973–1990), and finally to Turner (1991–2001). While Turner clearly brought significant wealth and status into the union, Fonda’s earlier husbands were not billionaires. She simply married for love and has not married again.
GCAPP, founded in 1995, is a statewide Georgia nonprofit that partners with schools and youth programs to give young people the guidance and support they need to make healthy choices and reach their potential.
So when people online insisted she’s been living off his wallet since the split, they missed the point. Fonda wasn’t crediting Turner for her success — she was acknowledging what his presence once meant in her life.
