A theater in Beverly, Massachusetts, is apologizing after a special screening of the movie “Jaws” went off the rails when actor Richard Dreyfuss allegedly went on a transphobic, misogynistic, homophobic, and sexist rant.
The Cabot theater said it takes full responsibility for Saturday’s event, “An Evening With Richard Dreyfuss + Jaws Screening,” going awry.
Audience members say their tickets cost about $300 each and didn’t buy them the experience they were expecting. Instead they were disgusted when Dreyfuss started a hate-filled speech that disparaged women in film, the #MeToo movement and LGBTQ rights.
It apparently got even worse and developed into a full on rant that started as Dreyfuss talked about Barbra Streisand and pivoted into what the Hollywood Reporter described as “bigoted opinions” on transgender kids, plus criticism of the Academy Awards having inclusivity and diversity guidelines.
Sarah Hogg and their partner, Jonah Hoffmann, told the Boston Globe that they walked out when Dreyefuss turned his hate towards the parents of transgender kids.
The experience left the audience uncomfortable, with many attendees walking out of the event, including Sarah Hogg and their partner, Jonah Hoffmann, who told the Boston Globe that this was personal.
“I’m queer, I’m nonbinary. This is personal to me,” Hogg said. “It’s one of those moments where you feel like you’re having an out-of-body experience. It was horrifying.”
The Cabot released a statement saying in part, “The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold as an organization…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 theater went on to say they’re talking to people about their experience and committed to learning how to enact their mission of entertaining people better, while educating and inspiring the community.
Dreyfuss, whose career took off after he played the marine biologist in the 1975 blockbuster, is not the fan favorite he was all those years ago.
The Globe reports that in recent years, Dreyfuss has made other, similar remarks, including in an episode of PBS’ Firing Line last year in which he said the Film Academy’s rules about inclusivity “make me want to vomit.”
A representative for Dreyfuss so far has not responded to requests for comment.