Actor Richard Dreyfuss responded to a fan who yelled “we love you” at his disastrous $300-a-ticket screening of Jaws by telling them “don’t be gay” in the event’s final reveal.
The 76-year-old actor showed up at a Jaws-themed event in Beverly, Massachusetts, where the hit 1975 movie he starred in was filmed, and proceeded to make degrading comments about women, LGBTQ+ people and diversity.
At one point, an audience member tried to remind Dreyfuss of his fans who had come to see him, shouting, “We love you!”
Dreyfuss, according to an aide, responded: ‘Do you love me? I love you? You are gay?’
The man was unfazed and tried to yell at Dreyfus, but he responded, “Don’t be gay.”
Actor Richard Dreyfuss responded to a fan who yelled “we love you” at his disastrous $300-a-ticket screening of Jaws by telling him “don’t be gay” in the event’s final reveal.
Seth Fiermonti, an engineer who bought a ticket to the event, said the boston globe They offered him free movie tickets for the inconvenience he had when leaving the Cabot Theater.
Casey Soward, CEO of The Cabot, mentioned that many of their fans stayed and enjoyed the show.
However, when asked if Dreyfuss would be invited back: “Been there, done that.” I think next time it will be different.
Dreyfuss, who played a marine biologist in the film, took the stage in a blue, floral-print dress that set workers helped her remove before putting on a sports jacket.
During what was supposed to be a light-hearted question-and-answer session, some in the audience walked out over her comments about women in film and the #MeToo movement, transgender youth and LGBTQ+ rights, and the efforts of the Film Awards. the Academy to promote inclusion. .
His son Ben, a journalist, had previously laughed off the controversy.
“Wow, I looked at my phone and found out about the disgusting and scandalous behavior of one of my relatives,” he said on X, adding a screenshot of a relative telling him they had an Android instead of an iPhone.
He continued: ‘Re: My dad, well now you know why I refused to give him the password to his own Twitter account for a decade lol.’
At one point, an audience member tried to remind Dreyfuss of his fans who had come to see him, shouting, “We love you!” The man was unfazed and tried to shout at Dreyfus, but he burst out: “Don’t be gay.”
Dreyfuss himself has made no public comment on the event, while the theater that held it apologized. His son Ben Dreyfuss (pictured left), a journalist, commented on the matter on social media Monday night.
Ben went even further to clarify his comments about his father’s statements, saying that the tabloids had lied about how he really felt.
He wrote: ‘I can’t really say if I agree with him or not. I am very supportive of trans people undergoing any medical procedures they decide to have in consultation with their doctors after a certain age.
‘But I don’t really know what that age should be. I don’t have a toddler and I’m no expert. These two truths about me are also truths about my dad. His opinion on gender reassignment therapy for preteens, like my opinion, means nothing. It has no consequences.
‘I want trans people to enjoy the best medical science available and live full and dignified lives. I also don’t want teenagers to make permanent, life-altering decisions that they will later regret. How to find the right line between these two goals is something I’m very happy, even anxious, to leave in the hands of people who know more about this than me or my father.
‘It doesn’t matter to me whether my father shares my exact opinion on these issues. Many people disagree with me on some things. This is America. Everyone can disagree about everything.
Ben added: ‘My dad’s not a perfect guy. I know this better than anyone reading this. But I love him deeply. Don’t ask me to report it. I won’t do it. I especially won’t do it for thought crimes!’
An attendee at the Q&A session in Massachusetts over Memorial Day weekend told DailyMail.Com that the Oscar winner “continued” to make homophobic and racist comments during his appearance.
‘She started the night by coming out in a dress dancing to Taylor Swift and saying this was the LGBTQ moment. “I figured she was joking, then a staff member told me she was walking around town for a couple of hours picking one out,” Kerry said.
Dreyfuss photographed with his now-deceased Jaws co-stars Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw.
The management of the Cabot Cinema apologized to the customers who attended Dreyfuss’s appearance
Kerry said the show got back on track with Dreyfuss discussing his role in another Steven Spielberg classic, 1978’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
From there, however, Kerry said Dreyfuss went off, targeting his Nuts co-star Barbra Streisand. ‘He started saying a lot of sexist things about her, about all women. They’re stupid, they shouldn’t have any power, etc.’ she continued.
Other accounts say that Dreyfuss accused women of being “passive,” which is why the 1987 movie Nuts “stinked.”
Another member of the crowd said Dreyfuss said society “shouldn’t listen to a 10-year-old boy who says he wants to be a boy instead of a girl.”
Kerry said the atmosphere in the theater quickly soured, with many booing the star and some walking away. “Now, now, don’t turn into an angry mob,” Dreyfuss told the crowd, according to Kerry.
Despite the strikes, Dreyfuss received applause when he ended the discussion by referencing his book ‘A Thought Frightens Me…’ and his opinion that civic education is no longer taught in classrooms, to the detriment of the country.
Dreyfuss eventually put on a jacket and ditched the dress, but continued to offend many in the audience.
According to some audience members, Dreyfuss made disparaging comments about Barbra Streisand, his co-star in the 1987 film Nuts.
The lack of a civic base means “we have no knowledge of who we are,” he said.
“If we don’t get it back soon, we’re all going to die.”
The Cabot sent an email of apology saying it did not endorse the views of the actor, who also starred in Close Encounters of The Third Kind, American Graffiti and The Goodbye Girl, a performance for which he received an Oscar.
The venue’s executive director did not immediately respond to emails Tuesday and a representative for Dreyfuss could not be reached.
‘We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfuss’ comments during the event were not in line with the values of inclusion and respect that we uphold at The Cabot. “We understand that his comments were distressing and offensive to many of our community members, and for that we sincerely apologize,” The Cabot’s statement read.