Theater 'Regrets' Richard Dreyfuss' Remarks at 'Jaws' Screening

A Massachusetts theater has said it deeply regrets "the distress" caused by remarks made by actor Richard Dreyfuss during a screening of the movie "Jaws."

The actor, 76, appeared at the Q&A at the Cabot Theater in Beverly on Saturday, which formed part of the start-of-summer screening of the hit 1975 film, when he made "racist, homophobic, misogynistic" statements, as one member of the audience stated on social media.

Dreyfuss addressed various topics ranging from Barbra Streisand to transgender people to women, NBC News reported. However, he disparaged women in film, the MeToo movement and LGBTQ rights to such an extent that members of the audience, who paid $300 per ticket for the evening, walked out.

Cabot Executive Director J. Casey Soward in a statement to NBC News on Monday said Dreyfuss' remarks "do not reflect the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold as an organization."

Soward noted the venue shares "serious concerns ... following the recent event with Richard Dreyfuss."

"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," he added.

The purported remarks Saturday drew criticism on social media.

"We walked out of his interview tonight along with hundreds of others because of his racist homophobic misogynistic rant," one person wrote.

Another social media user, who claimed her girlfriend's parents were present at the event, said Dreyfuss made offensive remarks, including comments about his co-star Streisand in the 1987 thriller "Nuts." He also allegedly described "Jaws" director Steven Spielberg as "a genius but an idiot."

Dreyfuss co-starred with Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw in "Jaws," which received a Best Picture nomination at the 1976 Academy Awards, the Independent reported. He also gained recognition for his roles in other 1970s films including "American Graffiti" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," both directed by Spielberg.