Richard Dreyfuss criticized for comments on ‘Jaws’ screening

Richard Dreyfuss

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A Massachusetts theater apologizes to patrons who attended a screening of Jaws with star Richard Dreyfuss, but were instead subjected to alleged sexist and homophobic comments from the actor over Memorial Day weekend.

Attendees who descended on the Cabot Theater in Beverly, Mass., on Saturday for what was billed as “An Evening with Richard Dreyfuss + Jaws Screening” were likely expecting amusing or insightful anecdotes from the actor about filming the blockbuster classic action from Steven Spielberg.

Instead, the Oscar winner launched into a freewheeling rant that, according to people’s social media posts, began while he was talking about Barbra Streisand and evolved into his bigoted views on trans youth, the Oscars’ rules of inclusiveness, then on trans children affirming their gender.

After the event, attendees quickly took to social media to criticize the actor’s remarks, with some even claiming they walked out during the event.

A participant and X.com user named Rogue Mama wrote: “Came here to see if Richard Dreyfuss was canceled tonight after appearing at #TheCabot in Beverly. » Another suggested an alternative title for the evening’s event: “An evening of misogyny and homophobia with Richard Dreyfuss.” Being disappointing doesn’t even cover it.

One person wrote in the comments section of the venue’s latest Facebook post: “We left his interview tonight along with hundreds of others because of his racist, homophobic and mysogynistic rant.” Another person called Dreyfuss’ comments “disgusting” and “offensive.”

On Monday, the venue apologized to attendees for Dreyfuss’ remarks, writing in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter: “We are aware of and share serious concerns following recent events with Richard Dreyfuss prior to the screening of the film. Jaws at Cabot. The opinions expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect the values ​​of inclusion and respect that we uphold as an organization. We deeply regret the distress this has caused many of our customers.

We regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic film has become a platform for political opinions. We take full responsibility for the oversight due to not anticipating the direction of the conversation and the discomfort it caused many customers.

We are in active dialogue with our guests about their experience and are committed to learning from this event how to better implement our mission to entertain, educate and inspire our community.

Dreyfuss appeared at a similar event Friday at the screening of The Cabot Q&A+ at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Participants also criticized him for his conduct and language, which they described as sexist and mean.

In May 2023, during his appearance on PBS, Dreyfuss made comments similar to those made to The Cabot regarding the Film Academy’s inclusion rules.

“They make me vomit,” he said. firing line. “No one should tell me, as an artist, that I have to give in to the newest, most current idea of ​​what morality is. What are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You can’t legislate on that. You have to let life be life and I’m sorry, I don’t think there is a minority or a majority in the country who should be addressed in this way. …It’s an art form. It’s also a form of commerce and it makes money, but it’s an art. And no one should tell me, as an artist, that I have to give in to the newest, most current idea of ​​what morality is.

THR has reached out to Dreyfuss’ rep for comment and The Cabot staff for further comment.