Hollywood’s new standards for so-called “diversity inclusion” are “thoughtless” and “patronizing”, declared Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss in a TV interview the other day. Dreyfuss eloquently stated that the new criteria make him “vomit”.
During an interview on the American talk show Firing Line, Dreyfuss, perhaps best known to the public for his role as Matt Hooper in JAWS (Jaws), discussed, among other things, what he called America’s “civic education crisis”.
In the interview, he takes a clear stand against the Academy’s latest “diversity inclusion” rules. These rules will require films to meet certain criteria in the various categories, such as best film. The plan is for the new rules to come into force from the 96th Academy Awards next year.
When asked what he thinks of the new standards, the Oscar winner, who stressed that he “really loves being an American”, expressed his dismay.
– They make me vomit, he replied.
"I think we're in the endgame right now."
Actor @RichardDreyfuss discusses restoring civics education and his fears for the nation's future. Plus, he reacts to Hollywood's new inclusion standards: "They make me vomit."
TONIGHT 8:30 pm ET@PBS listings: https://t.co/yjV9uYyL5J pic.twitter.com/njuxohjD5d
— Firing Line with Margaret Hoover (@FiringLineShow) May 5, 2023
Dreyfuss went on to argue that “art shouldn’t be governed by the latest ‘moral’ fad”. He also pointed out that you cannot legislate on whether someone risks perceiving themselves or others as insulted or ‘offended’.
– And what are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You can’t legislate that. And you have to let life be life.
– It says that we’re so fragile that we can’t have our feelings hurt. We have to anticipate having our feelings hurt, our children’s feelings. We don’t know how to stand up and bop the bully in the face.
