A Massachusetts theater apologized to patrons after Richard Dreyfuss’ appearance Saturday night, prompting many to boo the Oscar winner while many walked out of the performance.
Dreyfuss, 78, appeared at The Cabot in Beverly, Massachusetts, for a question-and-answer session followed by a screening of Jaws, the megahit that launched his career in 1975.
Dreyfuss is accused of making derogatory comments about members of the LGBTQ community, women in Hollywood and his collaborators.
“We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfuss’ comments during the event were not in line with the values of inclusivity we uphold at The Cabot,” the press release began.
“We understand that his comments were distressing and offensive to many of our community members and for that we sincerely apologize.”
‘At The Cabot, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our community. The opinions expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect our beliefs and we do not endorse them in any way.’
Dreyfuss, 78, appeared at The Cabot in Beverly, Massachusetts, for a question-and-answer session followed by a screening of Jaws, the megahit that launched his career in 1975.
Dreyfuss photographed with his now-deceased Jaws co-stars Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw.
Dreyfuss photographed with his Russian-born wife, Svetlana Erokhin, in April 2023
“We take full responsibility for the oversight by not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for any discomfort caused.”
In response to the controversy, one attendee, Rogue Mama, tweeted: “I came here to see if Richard Dreyfuss had been canceled tonight after appearing at #TheCabot in Beverly.”
Another person tweeted an alternative title for the evening: “An evening of misogyny and homophobia with Richard Dreyfuss.” The disappointing doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Ironically, on May 28, three days after Dreyfuss’ appearance, the theater is hosting an event titled How Discrimination Shows Up in Our Community and What We Can Do About It.
On May 24, Dreyfuss appeared at a similar session at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
One attendee wrote on Facebook: ‘Wow. He was horrible. Sexist, petty, arrogant. I left like many others even before the Jaws screening. Awful.’
Just 12 months ago, Dreyfuss was widely criticized for his comments about new diversity and inclusion requirements at the Academy Awards, saying they “make me vomit.”
Dreyfuss made those comments during an episode of PBS’s Firing Line, which aired Friday, and claimed that the Academy was treating people like children by implementing the new criteria.
The actor also defended Laurence Olivier’s performance in the 1965 film Othello, in which he played the title character in blackface.
The management of the Cabot Cinema apologized to the customers who attended Dreyfuss’s appearance
Host Margaret Hoover asked Dreyfuss what he thought about the incoming inclusion rules and he responded, “They make me vomit.”
‘No one should tell me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest and greatest idea of what morality is. What are we risking? Are we really at risk of hurting people’s feelings?
‘You can’t legislate that. You have to let life be life and I’m sorry, I don’t think there is a minority or a majority in the country that we should serve like this… This is an art form. It is also a form of commerce and makes money, but it is an art.
“And no one should tell me, as an artist, that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is.”
The actor has long spoken openly about his belief in the Constitution.
In 2008, he founded The Dreyfuss Initiative, a nonprofit organization that promotes teaching about American democracy in classrooms across the country. The initiative, among other things, provides teachers with educational videos and tools.
In a 2014 interview with The Associated Press, he called for a “civil strike” in support of the U.S. Constitution to encourage civic participation.
“I’m going to send you a copy of the preamble to the Constitution,” he said. ‘If there’s anything in it you don’t agree with, don’t sign it; just send me an explanation. You will agree with everything, because it is beautifully crafted and for everyone. And if I get 500,000 signatures, I’m going to call a civil strike.