Massachusetts theater apologizes after alleged comments by actor Richard Dreyfuss – WPXI

Instead of receiving information about “Jaws,” the hit 1975 film that won three Academy Awards and starred Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper, the actor reportedly used a question-and-answer session to comment on Barbra Streisand, the film's rules of inclusion. Oscars and transgender issues, according to Variety.

According to a YouTube video allegedly filmed at the event, the actor took the stage wearing a dress and dancing to Taylor Swift's hit “Love Story,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. He is then assisted by two people as he takes off his dress and puts on a jacket, the entertainment news site reported.

Aside from social media posts, it was unclear what Dreyfuss said during the session. In a statement to its patrons, the Cabot Theater wrote that the actor's statements were “not consistent” with the organization's “values ​​of inclusiveness,” WFXT reported.

“We regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic film has become a platform for political opinions. We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and the discomfort it caused many customers,” spokesperson J. Casey Soward said in a statement. according to Variety “We are in active dialogue with our guests about their experience and are committed to learning from this event how to better implement our mission to entertain, educate and inspire our community.”

Dreyfuss could not immediately be reached for comment, Variety reported.

This is not the first time that Dreyfuss, who won the Oscar for best actor in the film “The Goodbye Girl” in 1977, has made comments similar to those allegedly made on Saturday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

During an interview on PBS's “Firing Line” in May 2023, Dreyfuss criticized the Film Academy's inclusion rules.

“They make me vomit,” the actor said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “No one should tell me, as an artist, that I have to give in to the newest, most current idea of ​​what morality is. What are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people's feelings? You can't legislate on that. You have to let life be life and I'm sorry, I don't think there's a minority or a majority in the country that should be satisfied that way.

“It’s an art form. It’s also a form of commerce and it brings in money, but it’s an art. And no one should tell me, as an artist, that I have to give in to the newest, most current idea of ​​what morality is.

The actor also championed the revival of civics education in schools, creating The Dreyfuss Civics Initiative, a non-profit organization, in 2006.