AND Jaws screening and Q&A with the film’s star Richard Dreyfuss in Massachusetts ended in walkouts after the 76-year-old actor allegedly made sexist and transphobic comments.
On Saturday, May 25, Dreyfuss spoke at The Cabot Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts, at an event called “An Evening with Richard Dreyfuss + Jaws Screening.” Attendees expected behind-the-scenes secrets of the film, but were reportedly treated instead to the actor’s thoughts on trans youth and the Oscars’ rules of inclusivity, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
No transcript of the event — where Dreyfuss entered first in a dress with Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” in the background — has been released, but social media posts suggest his alleged comments began while he was talking about Barbra Streisand and escalated from there.
One user commented on Cabot’s Facebook page saying they were among those who walked out of the screening, writing: “We walked out of his interview tonight along with a hundred [sic] others because of his racist homophobic misogynistic rant.”
PEOPLE reached out to representatives for Dreyfuss, but did not immediately hear back.
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From left: Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw inside Jaws (1975).
Universal Studios/Courtesy of Getty Images
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The venue issued a statement apologizing to those in attendance on Monday, May 27.
“We are aware and share the serious concern following the recent incident with Richard Dreyfuss prior to the screening of the film Jaws at The Cabot,” the statement began. “The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect the values of inclusiveness and respect that we espouse as an organization. We deeply regret the distress this has caused many of our patrons.”
“We regret that an event that should have been a conversation to celebrate a cult film has instead become a platform for political views,” it continued. “We take full responsibility for the failure to predict the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused many users.”
The statement concluded: “We are in active dialogue with our patrons about their experience and are committed to learning from this event to better execute our mission to entertain, educate and inspire our community.”
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This is not the first time that Dreyfuss’s comments have caused a reaction. In 2023, he appeared in the PBS series Firing Line with Margaret Hoover where he called out the Academy for its diversity and demands for inclusion in the Oscars.
“They make me throw up,” the Mr. Holland’s opus the actor said then. “Because this is an art form. It’s also a form of commerce, and it makes money. But it’s art. And nobody should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is.”
He went on to call the demands “patronising” and praised Laurence Olivier’s 1965 portrayal of Othello, saying: “He played the black man brilliantly.”
“What are we risking?” Dreyfuss continued. “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 has to be accommodated like that.”
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Source: HIS Education