“We deeply regret the distress”: the cinema apologizes for Richard Dreyfuss’s comments during the screening of Jaws | Movies

A Massachusetts movie theater apologized to audiences during a special screening of “Jaws” and a question-and-answer session with its star, Richard Dreyfuss, who allegedly made a number of sexist and transphobic comments.

Appearing at the Cabot Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts, on May 25, Dreyfuss took the stage in an evening gown to the soundtrack of Taylor Swift’s Love Story, shaking his hips suggestively and brandishing his cane like a baseball bat.

He then allegedly attacked targets including Barbra Streisand, parents of trans teens, and the Academy’s new rules of inclusivity.

No transcript of the event has been released, but social media posts suggest he called Streisand a “genius” but didn’t listen to her because she was “a woman, and the woman should not have this power.”

Deadline reports that he also said, “you shouldn’t listen to a 10-year-old who says he wants to be a boy instead of a girl.” The Boston Globe reports that he went on to say that allowing these young people to transition “was bad parenting and that one day these kids might change their minds.”

However, video from the end of the event indicates that many audience members stayed and were very appreciative of the actor, who warned of a decline in critical thinking to considerable applause.

Writing on the Cabot’s Facebook page, one participant said: “We walked out of his interview tonight along with hundreds (sic) of others because of his racist, homophobic and misogynistic rant. »

Another said: “It was disgusting. How could Cabot not have checked his actions better? Apparently (I found out too late) he has a reputation for spewing this kind of racist, homophobic and misogynistic crap.

On May 27, the school released a statement saying it was “aware of and shares serious concerns following the recent event with Richard Dreyfuss.”

They continued: “The views 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,” it continues. “We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and the discomfort it caused many customers.”

The statement concluded: “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. »

In 2023, Dreyfuss challenged the Academy over its new diversity and inclusion requirements for Oscar nominations. He told PBS, “They make me vomit, because it’s an art form.”

“It’s also a form of commerce,” he continues, “and it brings in 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.

The demands, he continued, were “condescending”, and he cited Laurence Olivier’s Othello in 1965, saying: “He played a black man brilliantly. »

“What are we risking?” continued Dreyfuss. “Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You can’t legislate that and you have to let life be life. And I’m sorry, I don’t think there’s a minority or a majority in the country that should be satisfied in that way.”

Dreyfuss was then the youngest performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1978 for his role in The Goodbye Girl, and was nominated in the same category for Mr. Holland’s 1995 opus.

He is best known for his roles in a number of landmark classics of the 1970s and 1980s, including American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Stand By Me.