Richard Dreyfuss slammed for 'sexist and transphobic' rant at Jaws screening
Richard Dreyfuss has been accused of launching into a sexist and transphobic tirade during an appearance at a Massachusetts theatre’s screening of Jaws.
The incident resulted in many fans storming out of the theatre and prompting the venue to issue an apology.
“The views expressed by Mr Dreyfuss do not reflect the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold as an organisation," The Cabot Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts, said in a new statement.
“We deeply regret the distress that this has caused to many of our patrons."
“We regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic movie instead became a platform for political views," they continued.
“We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused to many patrons.”
On Saturday the theatre hosted a screening of the iconic 1975 classic along with a Q&A discussion with Dreyfuss, 76, who famously starred in the film.
But the event, called An Evening With Richard Dreyfuss, allegedly took a shocking turn when the Oscar winner suddenly started an offensive rant about women and trans youth.
The Hollywood star is also said to have made sexist remarks regarding Barbra Streisand, his co-star in the 1987 thriller Nuts. He proudly declared that he “didn’t listen to her because she is a woman and women shouldn’t have that power”.
He reportedly also described director Steven Spielberg as “a genius but an idiot”.
According to attendees, the star also shouted: “You shouldn’t be listening to some 10-year-old who says they want to be a boy instead of a girl.”
A string of attendees shared their experience on the theatre’s Facebook page.
One person wrote: “We walked out of his interview tonight along with hundreds of others because of his racist homophobic misogynistic rant. Disappointing doesn’t even begin to cover it."
Another attendee said: “Richard Dreyfuss is an embarrassment to society. I walked out tonight because of his small minded bigoted view of women and choice.”
While a third suggested the event be renamed “An Evening of Misogyny and Homophobia With Richard Dreyfuss”.
The Evening Standard has approached Dreyfuss’ representative for comment.
This isn’t the first time Dreyfuss has allegedly made inflammatory remarks. Last year, the actor blasted the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ new diversity and inclusion rules while defending actors using blackface.
“They make me vomit,” he said of the academy’s rules during an interview on PBS’s Firing Line. “Because this is an art form. It’s also a form of commerce and it makes money, but it’s an art. And no one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is.”
Jaws, which saw Dreyfuss starred alongside Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw, was directed by Steven Spielberg and nominated for Best Picture at the 1976 Academy Awards.
Dreyfuss also starred in other hit 70s films the likes of American Graffiti and Close Encounters of a Third Kind, which were also directed by Spielberg.
