VIENNA — American actor Jane Fonda said Wednesday she accepted an Austrian building tycoon's invitation to attend the Vienna Opera Ball because he offered to “pay me quite a bit of money.”

The 85-year-old Academy Award and Golden Globe winner said at a news conference with her date, 90-year-old Richard Lugner, that she needed the money to pay her bills and to support her grandchildren.

“I support a lot of people,” Fonda said.

The opera ball is one of the highlights of the social calendar in Austria and known for a guest list that includes many celebrities. This year's event is on Thursday.

Lugner is known for paying undisclosed sums of money to famous women to accompany him to the ball. His past guests include Pamela Anderson, Kim Kardashian and model Elle MacPherson.

Fonda said her commitment would not include dancing at the ball because she has a “fake shoulder, two fake hips, two fake knees.”

“I’m old and I may fall apart,” quipped the actor, whose recent roles have included the TV series ”Grace and Frankie" and the film “80 for Brady.”

She acknowledged not being well informed before she accepted Lugner's invitation, telling reporters she thought it was to an “opera performance” and not a ball.

Fonda, who is well known for her activism to prevent teenage pregnancies and to curb climate change, said she was “sorry” to learn Austrian oil and gas company OMV sponsored the Vienna Opera Ball.

“These fossil fuel companies are criminal. They’re criminal. They’re killing people. They’re killing the planet,” she said.

“Please try to get your opera to stop taking support from an oil company,” Fonda added.

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This should be music to Rihanna fans’ ears. The Grammy-winning singer hopes to soon release her first album since 2016.

“I want it to be this year,” Rihanna told British Vogue in a new cover story featuring images of her 9-month-old son.

The magazine notes she wasn’t aware of her second pregnancy when the interview took place.

“Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos.”

Rihanna covers the March edition of British Vogue alongside her partner A$AP Rocky and their first child. A representative confirmed Rihanna is pregnant with her second child following her halftime show performance at Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII.

The next album will be Rihanna’s ninth. Her previous, “Anti,” featured the hits “Work,” “Needed Me” and “Love on the Brain.” Rihanna, 34, has continued to record music since releasing “Anti.”

Rihanna shared a video of her son on TikTok in December. She told British Vogue she still can’t believe the experience of childbirth.

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Sam Smith and Kim Petras' performance of "Unholy" at the 2023 Brit Awards prompted dozens of viewers in the United Kingdom to file complaints.

The Office of Communications, which regulates TV, radio, phone and other services, received 106 complaints for this year's Brit Awards, which was held Feb. 11 in London and broadcast on ITV1, according to the office's website.

"The majority of complaints related to Sam Smith's performance, with the remainder about the use of offensive language and consumption of alcohol," an Ofcom spokesperson told British tabloid Daily Mail .

Just last week, the duo drew complaints for its performance at the 2023 Grammys, with Smith donning a hat with devil horns and Petras dancing in front of fire.

Smith and Petras won the Grammy Award for pop duo/group performance, making Petras the first transgender woman to win in that category.

At the Brit Awards, they traded the fiery red aesthetic for a grimier, postapocalyptic, Mad Max-inspired look, drawing more from the music video's auto "body shop" themes. Smith still wore his devil hat, and as he walked off the stage, a pair of dancers were seen making out on the hood of a car.

Even though 106 complaints were enough to make the top three of Ofcom's weekly public list , it paled in comparison to other recent controversial broadcasts.

Topping the week's list was Capital FM radio host Ant Payne, who drew fire for telling listeners to book "cheap" flights to Turkey after an earthquake there killed thousands. That broadcast prompted 567 complaints, according to Ofcom.

From combined wire services