Actor Richard Dreyfuss responded to a fan who shouted “we love you” during his disastrous $300-per-ticket screening of Jaws by telling them to “don’t be gay” in the event’s final reveal.
The 76-year-old actor appeared at a Jaws-themed event in Beverly, Massachusetts, where the 1975 blockbuster film he starred in was filmed, and proceeded to make derogatory comments about women, LGBTQ+ people and diversity.
At one point, an audience member tried to remind Dreyfuss of his fans who had come to see him by shouting, “We love you!”
According to one participant, Dreyfuss responded, “You love me? Do I love you? Are you gay?’
Undeterred, the man tried to yell back at Dreyfus, but he croaked out, “Don’t be gay.”
Actor Richard Dreyfuss responded to a fan who shouted “we love you” at his disastrous $300-per-ticket screening of Jaws by telling them to “don’t be gay” in the event’s final reveal
Seth Fiermonti, an engineer who bought a ticket for the event, explained the Boston Globe he was offered free movie tickets for his troubles as he left the Cabot Theater.
Casey Soward, executive director of The Cabot, said many of his fans stayed and enjoyed the show.
However, when asked if Dreyfuss would be invited back: “Been there, done that. I think it will be different next time.’
Dreyfuss, who played a marine biologist in the film, walked on stage in a blue dress with floral patterns, which stage workers helped him take off before he put on a sport coat.
During what was supposed to be a light-hearted question-and-answer session, some people in the audience walked out because of his comments about women in film and the #MeToo movement, transgender youth and LGBTQ+ rights, and the Academy Awards’ efforts to promote inclusivity to improve. .
His son Ben, a journalist, had previously laughed off the controversy.
“Wow, I was just looking at my phone and heard about the disgusting, outrageous behavior of one of my family members,” he said on X, adding a screenshot of a family member telling him they had an Android instead of an iPhone .
He continued, “Re: My dad, well, now you know why I refused to give him the password to his own Twitter account for ten years, lol.”
At one point, an audience member tried to remind Dreyfuss of his fans who had come to see him by shouting, “We love you!” Undeterred, the man tried to shout back at Dreyfus, but he croaked out: ‘Don’t be gay’
Dreyfuss himself has made no public comment on the event, while the theater organizing it has apologized. His son Ben Dreyfuss (pictured left), a journalist, commented on the issue on social media on Monday evening
Ben went even further to clarify his comments about his father’s statements, saying the tabloids had lied about how he really felt.
He wrote: ‘I really can’t say if I agree with him or not. I am a strong supporter of transgender people undergoing whatever medical procedures they wish to undergo after a certain age in consultation with their doctor.
‘But I don’t really know what that age should be. I don’t have a young child and I’m not an expert. These two truths about me are also truths about my father. His opinion on gender reassignment therapy for adolescents, like my opinion, means nothing. It has no consequence.
‘I want transgender people to be able to benefit from the best medical science available and live full and dignified lives. I also don’t want teenagers to make permanent life-changing decisions that they will regret. I would like to leave how I can find the right boundary between these two goals to people who know more about this than me or my father.
“Whether my father exactly shares my views on these issues is meaningless to me. Many people disagree with me on certain things. This is America. Everyone is allowed to disagree about everything.’
Ben added: “My father is not a perfect man. I know that better than anyone reading this. But I love him dearly. Don’t ask me to sue him. I will not do it. I especially won’t do it because of thought crimes!’
An attendee at the question-and-answer session in Massachusetts over Memorial Day weekend told DailyMail.Com that the Oscar winner “continued” to make homophobic and racist comments during his performance.
“He started the night wearing a dress and dancing to Taylor Swift and saying this was an LGBTQ moment. I assumed he was rummaging around, later an employee told me he walked around town for a few hours trying to pick one out,” Kerry said.
Dreyfuss pictured alongside his late Jaws co-stars Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw
Cabot Cinema management issued a full apology to patrons who attended Dreyfuss’ performance
Kerry said the show then got back on track when Dreyfuss discussed his role in another Steven Spielberg classic, 1978’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
From then on, however, Kerry said Dreyfuss took off, targeting his Nuts co-star Barbra Streisand. ‘He started saying a lot of sexist things about her, about all women. They’re stupid, they shouldn’t have any power, etc.,” she continued.
Other stories say Dreyfuss accused women of being “passive,” which is why the 1987 film Nuts was “bad.”
Another member of the crowd said Dreyfuss said society “shouldn’t listen to a 10-year-old who says he wants to be a boy instead of a girl.”
Kerry said the atmosphere in the theater quickly soured as many booed the star and some walked out. “Don’t turn into an angry mob now,” Dreyfuss told the crowd, according to Kerry.
Despite the strikes, Dreyfuss received applause when he ended the discussion by referencing his book “One Thought Scares Me…” and his opinion that civics is no longer taught in classrooms, to the detriment of the country.
Dreyfuss eventually put on a suit jacket and ditched the dress, but he continued to offend many in the audience
According to some audience members, Dreyfuss made disparaging comments about Barbra Streisand, his co-star in the 1987 film Nuts.
The lack of a foundation in civics means that “we have no idea who we are,” he said.
“If we don’t get it back soon, we’re all going to die.”
The Cabot sent an email apology saying it did not endorse the views of the actor, who also starred in Close Encounters of The Third Kind, American Graffiti and The Goodbye Girl, a performance for which he received an Oscar.
The venue’s executive director did not immediately respond to emails Tuesday and a representative for Dreyfuss could not be reached.
“We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfuss’ comments during the event were not consistent with the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold at The Cabot. We understand that his comments were disturbing and offensive to many of our community members, and for that we sincerely apologize,” The Cabot’s statement read.