Richard Dreyfuss' controversial comments during a screening of “Jaws” in Massachusetts on Saturday have led the venue hosting the event to apologize for the Oscar winner's “distressing and offensive” remarks.
The “American Graffiti” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” star, who appeared on stage in a floral-print dress, allegedly made transphobic comments and disparaged women, the #MeToo movement and inclusivity during the discussion, according to the Associated Press. . Dreyfuss's words at the film's screening, billed as “An Evening with Richard Dreyfuss + 'Jaws' Screening” at the Cabot, caused some attendees to leave the theater in Beverly, Massachusetts.
In a YouTube video that appears to be from the event, Dreyfuss dances on stage wearing a dress over her button-down shirt while Taylor Swift's “Love Story” plays. Two stagehands appear and remove their dresses while Dreyfuss imitates a striptease before putting on a jacket and taking a seat before the screening. It is unclear why the actor made such an entrance; The Times could not immediately reach representatives for Dreyfuss on Monday.
While images of Dreyfuss' full comments have yet to surface, many took to social media to air their grievances with the 76-year-old actor. NBC 10 Boston reported that audience members said his tickets cost about $300 each. The news station also reported that an attendee became upset when Dreyfuss gave “a hate-filled speech disparaging women in film, the #MeToo movement and LGBTQ rights.” The actor also took aim at his “Nuts” producer Barbra Streisand, whom he called a “genius” and an “idiot,” and shared “bigoted opinions” about transgender children and their parents, the Hollywood Reporter and Deadline said. (Last May, the Oscar winner for “Goodbye Girl” said that the Academy Awards' efforts to encourage diversity “make me want to vomit.”)
“He was there to talk about Jaws and his acting career. No one needs to hear him deliver dirty hate speech about the LGBTQ+ and transgender communities. Your opinions are more than welcome, but hate speech has no place in a public forum,” one Facebook user wrote on Cabot's page.
“I would be angry if I paid to see an event and thought he was doing a Q&A about a beloved classic movie and it turned into a rant about unrelated things, no matter what he was ranting about. Demented and titled Boomer,” added another.
“We walked out of his interview tonight along with hundreds of others because of his misogynistic, homophobic, racist rant,” another Facebook user wrote.
“This was disgusting,” another attendee added, according to Deadline. “How could Cabot not have examined her act better? Apparently (I found out too late), he has a reputation for spouting this kind of racist, homophobic, misogynistic nonsense.”
Dreyfuss, who has long advocated for better civic education, also referenced his 2022 book, “One Thought Scares Me…,” which focuses on having “the right to make our opinions known” and explains the harmful effects that a deterioration in society has on society. civic education could cause.
On stage, Dreyfuss said: “Fifty years ago, without telling anyone, they removed civics from the curriculum of every public school in America, which means we have no knowledge of who we are, and if we don't get it back Soon we are all going to die,” according to reports. “Make sure your kids aren't the last generation of Americans and know exactly what I'm talking about.”
The Cabot, which is located near where Steven Spielberg's hit 1975 film was filmed, apologized Tuesday for the actor's comments and for not anticipating the potentially incendiary nature of his appearance. However, when contacted by The Times, the theater did not provide a full account of what Dreyfuss said at the event.
“We are aware and share serious concerns following the recent event with Richard Dreyfuss prior to a screening of the film 'Jaws' at The Cabot,” the venue's executive director, J. Casey Soward, said in a statement. “The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect the values of inclusion and respect that we uphold as an organization. We are deeply sorry for the distress this has caused many of our patrons.
“We regret that an event that was intended to be a conversation celebrating an iconic film has become a platform for political opinions. “We take full responsibility for the carelessness in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused many customers,” the statement continued.
The Cabot said it is “in active dialogue” with its sponsors about their experience and is committed to learning from this event “how to best implement our mission to entertain, educate and inspire our community.” Cabot asked for privacy for its customers.
The theater did not immediately respond to The Times' requests for further comment.
