Venue Apologizes for Richard Dreyfuss’s Rant at Jaws Screening

When Twitter was bitten by The Cabot’s apology for Richard Dreyfuss’s comments at a Jaws screening on May 25, it begged the question, “What the hell could he have possibly said that warranted an immediate email blast apology?” Instead of a Q&A before the movie, Dreyfuss apparently went on a sexist and homophobic rant that alienated attendees, causing many of them to leave. It was supposed to be about the shark, dammit! ​​“We regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic movie instead became a platform for political views. We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused to many patrons,” said Cabot executive director J. Casey Soward in a statement. The venue has now limited commenting on their posts on Facebook.

As for specifics, attendee Diane Wolfe told The Boston Globe that “[Dreyfuss] said that the parents of trans youth, allowing them to transition, was bad parenting and that someday those kids might change their minds.” According to another attendee, he also complained about the Me Too movement, and Barbra Streisand caught a stray. Vulture has reached out to Dreyfuss’s team for comment.