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Hollywood has released new “diversity and inclusion guidelines” that will be implemented at the Academy Awards starting next year.
Legendary actor Richard Dreyfuss of “Jaws” blasted the move, arguing that they make him “vomit.”
In order for a film to win “Best Picture” at the Oscars, the movie must adhere to the new diversity guidelines. The film must include “a certain percentage of actors or crew from under-represented racial or ethnic groups.”
During an interview, PBS anchor Margaret Hoover said, “Starting in 2024, films will be required to meet new inclusion standards to be eligible for the Academy Awards for ‘Best Picture.’”
“They’ll have to have a certain percentage of actors or crew from under-represented racial or ethnic groups,” Hoover added.
Actor Richard Dreyfuss says Hollywood’s new inclusivity standards make him want to vomit. Good. More actors, directors and producers need to speak up. Not all great stories are diverse. Not all true stories are diverse. Forced diversity hurts everyone.
pic.twitter.com/UhU0htJdo3— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 7, 2023
She asked, “What do you think of these new inclusion standards for films?”
Dreyfuss shot back, “They make me vomit.”
“Because this is an art form, it’s also a form of commerce, and it makes money, but it’s an art,” he continued.
“And 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.”
“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.”
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Dreyfuss further claimed he doesn’t believe that any group in society today should be given special treatment. He said, “And I’m sorry, I don’t think there’s a minority or a majority in the country that has to be catered to like that.”
The actor then defended Hollywood legend Lawrence Olivier’s “Blackface” rendition of Shakespeare’s “Othello” in 1968.
— Advertisement — He stated, “Lawrence Olivier was the last White actor to play ‘Othello,’ and he did it in 1965. And he did it in ‘Blackface.’ And he played a Black man brilliantly.”
He conveyed his point with a few rhetorical questions, asking, “Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man? Is someone else being told that if they’re not Jewish, they shouldn’t play the ‘Merchant of Venice?’ Are we crazy? Do we not know that art is art?”
