HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (BP)–“We need to pray for Ted and Jane and their marriage,” said Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, in response to rumors that Jane Fonda has become a born-again Christian.
Baehr shared his thoughts on Fonda’s reported conversion during an interview with Dan Wooding, widely distributed evangelical freelance writer based in California.
“Actress Jane Fonda and her husband, medial mogul Ted Turner, need prayer, not gossip,” Baehr said in column by Wooding on Jan. 8.
Media outlets across the country have reported about Fonda’s conversion, including The Washington Post, the Associated Press and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The report first appeared on the Internet site, WorldNetDaily.com, in an article by Joseph Farah, whose account featured anonymous sources confirming Fonda’s salvation.
Baehr, in Wooding’s column, recounted, “A year ago, Ted Turner told his marriage counselor that Jane Fonda was ‘trying to make him a saint.’ This comment was reported but not followed up by the major media. What he [Turner] was referring to is the fact that, according to reliable sources including correspondence with Jane herself, Jane has accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.
“In fact, Ted Turner has complained that several of his closest friends and associates have accepted Christ over the years: key people in Turner Broadcasting, his best fishing buddy and his former paramour,” Baehr told Wooding.
According to Farah, Fonda’s chauffeur began approaching her about his personal faith in Christ two years ago. At first Fonda was uncomfortable with the conversations, but eventually attended church with the chauffeur at Providence Missionary Baptist Church, a predominately African American congregation in Atlanta.
She had previously attended the Peachtree Presbyterian Church, according to a report in The Washington Times Jan. 14.
The Times also reported that several prominent Atlantans were involved in Fonda’s path to Christ, including Ginny Millner, wife of Georgia Republican leader Guy Millner, and Nancy McGuirk, whose husband is an executive in Turner Broadcasting Co.
A spokesman for Fonda’s Atlanta office told Baptist Press they would not comment on Fonda’s personal life.
Regardless of her salvation experience, Baehr said believers should continue to pray for both Fonda and her husband.
“We have all made mistakes. We’ve all said and done things we learn to regret. And that’s a feeding ground for a malicious media, which seeks to create scandal and foment sensationalism,” Baehr said. “Ted and Jane are two very bright and energetic people caught in the glare of the media’s celebrity spotlight. They may be doing the right thing by taking time to re-evaluate and re-appreciate one another.”
