Richard Dreyfuss Takes Stage At Massachusetts ‘Jaws’ Screening Wearing Dress Before Delivering Rant Described As Transphobic; Venue Apologizes https://t.co/sW1FZrpiYM
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 27, 2024
After taking the stage in a housedress and, at one point, swinging his cane like a baseball bat at a Massachusetts holiday weekend screening of Jaws, Richard Dreyfuss went on to deliver a rant described by attendees as transphobic, sexist and homophobic.
“This was disgusting,” posted one attendee on the Facebook page of The Cabot theater in Beverly, Massachusetts. “How could the Cabot not have vetted his act better. Apparently (I found out too late), he has a reputation for spewing this kind of racist, homophobic, misogynistic bullcrap.”
Social media accounts of the event suggest that the trouble began when Dreyfuss started talking about his Nuts producer Barbra Streisand, calling her a “genius” but that women, in the commenter’s account of the event, “are so passive that’s why the movie sucked.” From there Dreyfuss apparently made disparaging remarks about the MeToo Movement, then “started down the road of how you shouldn’t be listening to some 10 year old who says they want to be a boy instead of a girl.”
In a statement of apology sent by the Cabot to attendees, the venue wrote, “We are aware of, and share serious concerns, following the recent event with Richard Dreyfuss prior to a screening of the film Jaws at The Cabot. The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold as an organization. We deeply regret the distress that this has caused to many of our patrons.”
Dreyfuss has been an outspoken critic of Oscar inclusivity rules and trans youth affirming their gender. Last year on PBS’ Firing Line, the Goodbye Girl Oscar-winner said diversity efforts made by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “make me vomit.”
