A Massachusetts theatre has issued an apology after Jaws actor Richard Dreyfuss used the event to air demeaning remarks about women and the LGBTQIA+ community.
The 76-year-old actor, best known for his work in Jaws, American Graffiti and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, was scheduled to appear at The Cabot theatre for a Jaws-themed event and lighthearted question-and-answer session.
Footage shared online shows Dreyfuss dancing on stage to Taylor Swift’s Love Story wearing a blue, floral-patterned dress, which stage workers then help him remove before he puts on a sports coat.
During the question-and-answer session, some people in the audience walked out over his remarks about women in film and the #MeToo movement, transgender youths and LGBTQIA+ rights, and the Academy Awards’ efforts to foster inclusivity.
Dreyfuss has previously been outspoken about the academy’s diversity efforts, saying they “make [him] want to vomit”.
“We’re so fragile that we can’t have our feelings hurt,” he told The Firing Line in 2023.
“We don’t know how to stand up and bop the bully in the face.”
At the end of Saturday’s session at the Cabot, Dreyfuss wrapped up by plugging his 2022 book One Thought Scares Me, saying he was delivering a warning for the future of America.
“Fifty years ago, without telling anybody, they took civics out of the curriculum at public schools in America. We have no knowledge of who the hell we are, and if we don’t get it back soon we’re all going to die,” Dreyfuss said in a video captured at the event.
“We have to make sure that your kids are not the last generation of Americans, and you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Theatre’s apology and son’s comments
Following the backlash to Dreyfuss’s comments, The Cabot theatre issued an email apology saying it did not endorse the actor’s opinions.
“We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfuss’s comments during the event were not in line with the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold at The Cabot,” the theatre’s statement said.
“We understand that his remarks were distressing and offensive to many of our community members, and for that, we sincerely apologise.”
Dreyfuss’s son, Ben, commented on the situation on his Substack Calm Down, after some jokes he shared on X (formerly Twitter) were taken out of context by the media.
“As you may know, my father is in the news. Apparently he was at a Jaws event in Massachusetts and, during the interview, he shared some political opinions that pissed off a bunch of the liberals in the audience,” he said.
“I was not going to engage with this, but the tabloids’ mischaracterisation of a joke I tweeted last night has forced my hand.”
The younger Dreyfuss went on to say that he was not in attendance at the event and thus was “not in a position to judge what he said”.
“But more importantly, it’s a free country. He’s allowed to have whatever opinions he wants.”
He went on to say that the interviewer at the event should not have asked his father about the contentious issues and added the audience “just wanted to hear him tell nice little stories about Jaws”.
“He should have just given the audience what they paid for. No-one is terribly interested in the political thoughts of movie stars.”
AP/ABC