Jane Fonda was always an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. In 1972, the Academy Award-winning actress and activist traveled to North Vietnam and was photographed laughing and clapping along with Vietnamese soldiers. What followed was a long-lasting wave of criticism and international outrage that earned Fonda the nickname "Hanoi Jane."
That Vietnam photograph has followed Fonda ever since -- and she has apologized for it publicly and privately many times over. In this clip from an episode of "Oprah's Master Class," she does so once again, calling her appearance in the photo "an unforgivable mistake" and sharing the details of how the photograph happened in the first place.
In the clip, Fonda explains that she was taken to a North Vietnam military site on the last day of her visit, even though she did not want to go. "I was an emotional wreck by [then]," she remembers. "I don't know if I was set up or not. I was an adult. I take responsibility for my actions."
That's when a small ceremony began. "These soldiers sang a song; I sang a song in feeble Vietnamese," she says. "Everyone was laughing. I was led to a gun site and I sat down. And I was laughing and clapping, and there were pictures taken."
As Fonda walked away from the site, she suddenly realized how those pictures would look to the rest of the world. "I understand the anger about that," she admits.
Years later, Fonda arranged to meet privately with a group of Vietnam veterans. Some of the veterans had attended the meeting eager to confront the woman they considered a traitor, and to fully express their hostility. Fonda remembers one man in particular. "[He had been with] the Delta death squad and he had an ace of spades," she says. "That was the card that would be thrown when he was going to kill someone, and he brought it with him [to the meeting]. He was intending to challenge me and throw it at my feet."
In the clip, Fonda reveals what happened during the meeting -- including how the man ended up tearing up his ace of spades and throwing it in the trash. "I don't mean that every single man there suddenly was 'fond of Fonda,'" she says. "But there was a lot of healing."
The moving experience taught Fonda a life lesson that extends beyond the Vietnam controversy. "We have to listen to each other, even when we don't agree, even when we think we hate each other," she says. "I learned so much from that meeting. It was a very difficult thing to do and it was one of the best things that I ever did in my life. Look what scares you in the face and try to understand it. Empathy, I have learned, is revolutionary."
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40th Anniversary Of Vietnam Withdrawal
(01 of08)
Open Image Modal11th April 1968: US soldiers, one wounded and being carried by a colleague, walking down Hill Timothy, during the conflict in Vietnam. (Photo by Terry Fincher/Express/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
American Soldiers Departing From Vietnam, Saigon 1973(02 of08)
Open Image ModalVIETNAM - APRIL 26: American Soldiers Preparing To Definitively Leave Vietnam, In Saigon, On April 26, 1973.The Paris Accords, Signed On January 27, 1973, Put An End To The United States' Direct Intervention. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(03 of08)
Open Image ModalDA NANG, VIET NAM: Photograph dated 1973 showing a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) officer (R) overseeing the departure of US military personnel at Da Nang airport, following the January 1973 signing of the Paris accords. (AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Signing Of The Peace Accord At The Paris Conference 1973 (04 of08)
Open Image ModalFRANCE - JANUARY 27: On January 27, 1973, The Day Of The Signing Of The Paris Peace Accord Which Decided Upon The Withdrawal Of American Troops From Vietnam, Demonstrators Marched With A Sign Bearing The Effigy Of Ho Chi Minh, The Founder Of The Vietminh. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Hue, Vietnam(05 of08)
Open Image ModalVIETNAM - 1973: (NO U.S. TABLOID SALES) U.S. Army soldier Corporal Cooley (holding a Pepsi soda can) of the 101st Airborne Division in the mountains above Hue, Vietnam 1973. Cooley was a member of a Recon outfit. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
U.S. Marine Base in Bien Hoa, Vietnam(06 of08)
Open Image ModalBIEN HOA, VIETNAM - UNDATED: (NO U.S. TABLOID SALES) U.S. Marines wait for their plane to arrive at an airbase in 1973 in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. This group of Marines were among the last to leave Vietnam. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
President Nixon With An American Soldier Made Prisoner In Vietnam 1973(07 of08)
Open Image ModalUNITED STATES - MAY 29: U.S. President Richard Nixon Speaking With American Soldiers Upon Their Return From Prisoner Of War Camps In Vietnam, During A Reception Held In Washington On May 29, 1973. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
American POWs Released In Vietnam(08 of08)
Open Image ModalHANOI, VIETNAM- MARCH 29: (NO U.S. TABLOID SALES) Vietnamese civilians and soldiers wait for the release of American POW's at the Hanoi Hilton March 29,1973 in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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