A Massachusetts theater has apologized after fans complained online about an event with actor Richard Dreyfuss where he allegedly made several political and cultural statements that some audience members disagreed with.
The event was called “An Evening with Richard Dreyfuss and Jaws Screening” and took place at the Cabot theater in Beverly, Massachusetts. The screening saw Dreyfuss talk about his book, past projects, and allegedly even the “Me Too” movement and transgenderism.
Outlets like Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter cited a series of Facebook comments by alleged audience members, but no actual quotes from Dreyfuss at the event that could be considered “transphobic” or “sexist.”
What can be confirmed, however, is that Dreyfuss came on stage to a song by Taylor Swift, while sporting a cane and a dress. Two stagehands are seen in a video then ripping the dress off of the actor before he put on a blazer and sat down.
‘We have to make sure that your kids are not the last generation of Americans.’
According to social media accounts, Dreyfuss spoke about Barbra Streisand (who produced his film “Nuts”), and while he called her a “genius,” also noted that the reason the movie “sucked” was because women are “passive.”
Another alleged attendee said that the actor commented that people “shouldn’t be listening to some 10-year-old who says they want to be a boy instead of a girl.”
His remarks were characterized as consistently and purposefully looking to push the envelope, but recollections of his comments do not come close to any form of bigotry, save for in the mind of progressive activists.
Some remarks that were caught on video from the Q&A portion of the event came while Dreyfuss was promoting his 2022 book, “One Thought Scares Me.”
“Fifty years ago, without telling anybody, they took civics out of the curriculum at public schools in America. We have no knowledge of who the hell we are, and if we don’t get it back soon, we’re all gonna die,” Dreyfuss said. “We have to make sure that your kids are not the last generation of Americans, and you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
The theater issued an apology following the event and said that it was aware of and shares “serious concerns.”
“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,” the Cabot theater said.
“We regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic movie instead became a platform for political views. We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused to many patrons.”
“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,” they concluded.
Dreyfuss spoke to BlazeTV host Glenn Beck in early 2023 and made similar remarks about the importance of American history.
“There are people who now think that opposing views are un-American. They don’t know that opposing views are entwined and threaded through the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and what we show to the world we believe in,” he told Beck.
“I certainly think that when we allow our kids to tell us what is valuable and what is nurturing, we’re going to the wrong people.”
Dreyfuss reportedly screened “Jaws” at a different venue in New Hampshire as well. At least one audience member claimed he made offensive remarks at that event, too.
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