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Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss ranted over the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences new inclusion rules in a May 5, 2023 interview with Firing Line host Margaret Hoover.
The Jaws actor said:
“They make me vomit."
The Oscars implemented representation and inclusion standards to redefine eligibility in the Best Picture category.
In an effort to improve the underrepresentation of marginalized groups–including women, LGBTQ+ individuals and people of color–the Academy endeavored to recognize achievements in film for individuals both in front of and behind cameras "to better reflect the diverse global population."
However, Dreyfuss argued filmmaking as an "art form" should be allowed to continue to favor White men like him and insisted he, as a White male actor, should not be subject to any rules.
He also defended blackface in his rant.
\u201cRichard Dreyfuss is rather upset he cant play a Black man in Blackface.\n\nHe pointed to Laurence Olivier\u2019s performance of Othello, in which the white actor played him in blackface.\n\n\u201cHe played a Black man brilliantly. Am I being told I will never have a chance to play a Black man?\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
Dreyfuss stated:
"No one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give into 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.”
"I don't think that there's a minority or majority in the country that needs to be catered to like that."
He went on to refer to four-time Oscar-winning British actor Laurence Olivier to defend blackface.
“You know, Laurence 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."
"Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man?”
Twitter responded.
\u201c@sagesurge Narrator: Yes, Richard. You are being told you lack the most important detail to play that role. It's non-negotiable. If you have a complaint, take it up with the creator and have him send you back as a black man. See you then.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge Yes Richard... that's exactly what your being told. I think hooper can sum up my response...\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge EVEN IF blackface was allowed, another point he still fails to see is why hire a white person to do a black role when we have excellent black actors to do it the right way. This old man just wants "art" to be nothing but white actors.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge A man who\u2019s had much success, if he were a good and humanity minded man, should step back and say, \u201cPerhaps I don\u2019t need to usurp the representation of people of colour from actual people of colour. I\u2019ll stand this one out because I am not a self important attention seeking ass.\u201d\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge Here's a hot take:\nThe arts, especially performing arts, are social. Artists have a responsibility to use their influence to make the world better. Theater and film have historically favored white men. If you perpetuate that inequity you are making Bad Art.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge And he's an Academy member, folks. Is it any wonder their selections almost always conveniently leave out people of color?\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge Correct, Richard. You will never play Han Solo, nor a person of color.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge An old white man having racial insensitive takes? Call me shocked...\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
The act of White performers caricaturing stereotyped Black people in minstrel shows by darkening their skin with black ash or shoe polish to depict enslaved people for entertainment has long been recognized as blatantly racist.
So when Dreyfuss mentioned Laurence Olivier as an excuse to legitimize blackface, it backfired.
\u201c@sagesurge Sidney Poitier was alive at that time. He could've played Othello. So was James Earl Jones, Harry Belafonte, and many other black men who could've played that role instead of hiring a white man to play the role of a man of African descent.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge Probably didn\u2019t occur to him that that was because black actors didn\u2019t have access.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge Great example of when \u201cart is sacred\u201d goes wrong.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge Actually, it was 1995 and the last to play Othello was Lawrence Fishburne. There was a modern version in 2001 with Eamonn Walker. I don't expect this bigot to know that though. \ud83d\ude44\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201cI wonder what Dreyfuss would say if a 6'5" actor played him in a thing and used the Dorf-on-Golf method to match Dreyfuss's 5'5" stature. My guess is he'd feel mocked and insulted, wondering why they didn't cast a short actor for the role.\u201d— Bob Cesca (@Bob Cesca) 1683489384
Fans were disheartened by his comments.
\u201c@sagesurge Oh dammit, that\u2019s really disappointing.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@bobcesca_go Why do so many of my favorite actors insist on keeping their mouths running past their expiration date?\u201d— Bob Cesca (@Bob Cesca) 1683489384
\u201c@bobcesca_go Dreyfuss is out to lunch on all of this\u201d— Bob Cesca (@Bob Cesca) 1683489384
\u201c@sagesurge I liked him better when he was hunting sharks.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
\u201c@sagesurge We're going to need a bigger dumpster.\u201d— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices) 1683430274
The Academy's inclusion rules were first announced in 2020 in response to years of criticism over an overwhelming majority of winners and nominees being White men.
The new benchmarks required to meet the nomination criteria only apply to the Best Picture category and go into effect in 2025.