Richard Dreyfuss’ son Ben Dreyfuss weighed in on the transphobic and misogynistic comments his father allegedly made at a recent “Jaws” event.
“Wow, just looked at my phone and learned about the disgusting outrageous behavior of one of my relatives,” the 37-year-old joked on X Monday alongside a screenshot of a text message from his sister announcing she had purchased an Android phone.
Ben, whom Richard shares with his ex-wife Jeramie Rain, then wrote of his father in a second post, “well, now you know why I refused to give him the password to his own twitter account for a decade lol.”
“This will be my only statement on the matter. thank you,” he concluded.
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Ben later clarified his statements, saying that he did not call his dad “disgusting” or “outrageous” but meant it as a joke about his sister getting an Android.
He somberly added, “My dad and I disagree about lots of stuff. But it’s a free country. People are allowed to have different opinions about stuff.”
Ben’s response came after Richard, 76, made headlines for allegedly going on a rant about transgender children and diversity Saturday during a ticketed screening of his 1975 movie at the Cabot theater in Beverly, Mass.
While video of the actor’s full remarks has not been released, attendees were quick to call him out on social media.
“We walked out of his interview tonight along with hundred of others because of his racist homophobic mysogynistic [sic] rant,” one person commented on the venue’s Facebook page.
An X user, meanwhile, said her girlfriend’s parents attended the event and attached a screenshot of a text message from one of them.
“Went off the rails talking about how Barbra Streisand is a genius but he didn’t listen to her because she is a woman and women shouldn’t have that power. Then started sharing his views on the me too movement and started down the road on how you shouldn’t be listening to some 10 year old who says they want to to be a boy instead of a girl,” the message read.
Another X user claimed Richard said “women shouldn’t have any power” and instead should “be quiet and meek.”
“When asked about the #MeToo movement he said ‘those people make me want to vomit’ and that he didn’t want to listen to 8 year olds saying that they were born in the wrong body,” the same person echoed.
Despite many people walking out of the theater and expressing their disdain for the Oscar winner’s comments, several audience members stayed until the end and even clapped and cheered for him, as seen in one brief clip.
“It’s about the fact that 50 years ago, without telling anybody, they took civics out of the curriculum of all public schools in America, which means we have no knowledge of who the hell we are. And if we don’t get it back soon, we’re all going to die. Make sure your kids are not the last generation of Americans. And you know exactly what I’m talking about,” he said.
The Cabot later issued an apology for Richard’s “distressing” remarks.
“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 offense to many of our community members, and for that, we sincerely apologize,” executive director J. Casey Soward wrote in an email to guests.
The theater further told the Hollywood Reporter that it was “aware of, and share[s] serious concerns, following the recent event with Richard Dreyfuss.”
“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,” it said in a statement.
A rep for Richard did not return Pvnew’s request for comment, and the movie star has not addressed his alleged comments himself.
