"Jaws" star Richard Dreyfuss has been slammed for his comments at the movie's screening in Massachusetts.
In an evening billed as "An Evening With Richard Dreyfuss + Jaws Screening” which was held at The Cabot Theater in Massachusetts on Saturday, attendees were met with a rant from Dreyfuss that the Hollywood Reporter said was centered on attacking trans youth and gender-affirming care and the Academy Awards’ inclusion rules.
On Monday, the theater apologized to its attendees in a statement that read, “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.
"We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused to many patrons," the statement continued. "We are in active dialogue with our patrons about their experience and are committed to learning from this event how to better enact our mission of entertaining, educating and inspiring our community.”
While Dreyfuss' comments were not recorded during the screening, various attendees took to social media to criticize the actor's tirade. One user posted an alternative title for the evening: “An Evening of Misogyny and Homophobia With Richard Dreyfuss. Disappointing doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
Another said in a Facebook post, “We walked out of his interview tonight along with hundreds of others because of his racist homophobic misogynistic rant.” Others called the conversation with Dreyfuss “disgusting” and “offensive.”
Last year, Dreyfuss told PBS’ "Firing Line" that the Oscars' new inclusion requirements “make me vomit.”
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