Jane Fonda sparks outcry after calling Covid-19 pandemic ‘God’s gift to the Left’

The Covid-19 pandemic could be “God’s gift to the Left” because it might help Joe Biden beat Donald Trump next month, actress and long-time leftist activist Jane Fonda has mused, triggering uproar on social media.

Fonda, who is 82 years-old, made the comment during a virtual sit-in with the US Working Families Party last week, though it was only spotted by netizens on Wednesday.

“I just think Covid is God’s gift to the Left,” Fonda said in the clip, quickly adding that she knows “it's a terrible thing to say.” She reasoned that the pandemic had “ripped the bandaid off” Trump and shown people “what he stands for and what is being done to average people and working people in this country.”

Earlier in the chat, Fonda said the Left should use the opportunities offered by the pandemic “with every ounce of intelligence and courage and wherewithal we have.”

Needless to say, Fonda’s idea that the pandemic, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans, could be seen as an opportunity to advance left-wing politics didn’t go down well with many on social media.

The actress was branded “sick” and “despicable” for “politicizing” the health crisis.

Others branded her a hypocrite for condemning the US president’s supposed inaction on the pandemic, while calling it “God’s gift” to his opposition.

Fonda didn’t appear to have many defenders as the video went viral – and some were quick to point out that she didn’t represent an entire political party or political movement.

Fonda is no stranger to political controversy. She was dubbed ‘Hanoi Jane’ after a 1972 trip to Vietnam during which she was photographed on an anti-aircraft gun which had been used to shoot down American pilots. She has also been arrested multiple times in the course of her political activism on climate change.

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