Jaws actor Richard Dreyfuss has been slammed as "homophobic" and "sexist" after he "ranted" about transgender children and inclusion at a special screening of the classic shark flick.
Attendees at "An Evening With Richard Dreyfuss + Jaws Screening" at the Cabot, an arts venue in Massachusetts, had paid up to see a Q&A with the film veteran, but the star's comments prompted many to take to social media after the event to voice their outrage.
According to event-goers, Dreyfuss had embarked on a "rant" encompassing gender affirmation, inclusion at the Academy Awards, and his perspective on trans youth - as well as a bizarre routine in which he danced in a dress on stage to a Taylor Swift song.
In footage posted from the Q&A session, the actor can be heard telling the audience about his book, "One Thought Scares Me…We Teach Our Children What We Wish Them to Know; We Don’t Teach Our Children What We Don’t Wish Them to Know".
Dreyfuss's remarks were described by attendees as "disgusting"
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Dreyfuss said: "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... You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Online, one social media user claimed the event should have been called "An Evening of Misogyny and Homophobia With Richard Dreyfuss", adding that "disappointing doesn't even begin to cover it".
In the comments section of a post by the venue itself, another social media user claimed they "walked out of his interview tonight along with hundreds of others because of his racist homophobic mysogynistic rant", while another called Dreyfuss’ comments "disgusting" and "offensive".
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Critics slammed Dreyfuss's appearance at the Cabot in Beverly, Massachusetts
A statement by the Cabot read: "We are aware of, and share serious concerns, following the recent event with Richard Dreyfuss prior to a screening of the film Jaws at The Cabot.
"The views expressed by Mr Dreyfuss do not reflect the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold as an organisation. We deeply regret the distress that this has caused to many of our patrons.
"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.
"We are in active dialogue with our patrons about their experience and are committed to learning from this event how to better enact our mission of entertaining, educating and inspiring our community."
But the controversy prompted other social media users to slate the venue itself, with one adding: "Freedom of speech - it is a right of any US citizen... Deal with it!"
Dreyfuss has come under fire for his statements before; this time last year, he slammed the Film Academy's inclusion rules, claiming they "make [him] vomit" and stating that "no one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is".
The 76-year-old, appearing on PBS, added: "What are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You can't legislate that. You have to let life be life - and I'm sorry, I don't think there is a minority or majority in the country that has to be catered to like that."
