What did Richard Dreyfuss say? The Cabot Theatre issues apology over Jaws star's allegedly offensive remarks during screening

Jaws actor Richard Dreyfuss recently sparked outrage over his remarks during the film’s screening at the Massachusetts theatre, The Cabot. The Performing Arts Center later apologized to its patrons who were present at the event and were subjected to the actor’s comments.

The retrospective screening of the iconic Steven Speilberg movie was held on Saturday, May 25. However, many attendees took to social media and accused Richard of delivering allegedly questionable rants that caused several people to walk out of the venue. Lisa Howe commented on The Cabot's Facebook post of the event:

"We walked out of his interview tonight along with hundred of others because of his racist homophobic mysogynistic rant."

Diane Wolfe, one of the patrons attending the show, told an outlet that the Oscar-winner said parents of young trans people were bad at parenting for allowing their kids to transition, reasoning that the children might change their minds in the future.

Attendees reacts to the alleged comments made by Richard Dreyfuss. (Image via Facebook/The Cabot)

During a Q&A session at the theatre, Richard Dreyfuss referred to his 2022 book One Thought Scares Me and said:

“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. We have to make sure that your kids are not the last generation of Americans, and you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

X user @sasysquatchgirl claimed that the 76-year-old actor reportedly insulted Barbra Streisand, his Nuts movie co-star, and went on to allegedly insult women in general. The user mockingly titled the screening:

"An Evening of Misogyny and Homophobia With Richard Dreyfuss. Disappointing doesn't even begin to cover it."

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The Cabot sends a message of apology for Richard Dreyfuss' alleged controversial remarks

Soon after the event and the ensuing backlash, The Cabot in Beverly sent an email to the attendees who were audience to Richard Dreyfuss' words during the Jaws movie screening. The apology sent on Monday, May 27, read:

"We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfuss’s comments during the event were not in line with the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold at The Cabot. We understand that his remarks were distressing and offensive to many of our community members, and for that, we sincerely apologize."

The message continued:

"At The Cabot, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our community. The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect our beliefs, and we do not endorse them in any way."

The Cabot took accountability for what transpired at Saturday's screening:

"We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for any discomfort it caused."

It concluded the message by assuring its patrons:

"We are taking immediate steps to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. This includes more rigorous vetting of our event participants and more proactive communication strategies to keep our audience informed."

Richard Dreyfuss reportedly displayed similar conduct and use of language at Friday’s event at New Hampshire’s The Music Hall in Portsmouth, causing the actor to invite scorn from attendees on social media.