‘Jaws’ star finding it ‘thoughtless’ that white actors can’t perform in Blackface anymore gets fingers leveled at his ‘legendary’ status

Between J.K. Rowling, Armie Hammer, Ezra Miller, and more than a few other names that would probably be too depressing to list, no group of people seem to be more intimate with the self-destruct button than famous artists. Whether it’s from the crippling pressure of the world’s gaze, an inability to read a room, or generally just being a schmuck.

But Richard Dreyfuss didn’t just self-destruct the other day; no, the Jaws star performed what was perhaps the most advanced implosion during his recent Firing Line interview with Margaret Hoover, in which the storied actor suggested that white actors not being allowed to perform in Blackface anymore was “patronizing” and “thoughtless,” lamenting a world that will no longer give him a chance to play a Black man.

First of all, we assume most people aspire to one day have so few problems in their life that they can name Blackface being taboo as some sort of horrible tragedy in their lives. Moreover, though, Dreyfuss’ Blackface comments came after he voiced his displeasure with the incoming Best Picture inclusion rules being implemented at the Academy Awards starting in 2024, in which a certain percentage of a film’s crew and/or cast will need to be a part of an underrepresented racial, ethnic, and/or social group in order to receive a Best Picture nomination.

The key takeaway here is that Dreyfuss was perfectly capable of simply voicing his displeasure for these new rules without launching into a neurotic tirade about why Blackface should still be allowed, but still felt the need to do so for some infinitely bizarre reason.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Twitter began rightfully tearing him apart.

In the future, we recommend that Mr. Dreyfuss consider the following route when faced with conversations about diversity and progress in the entertainment industry – rather than highlighting your disapproval with an unrelated anger towards Blackface not being acceptable anymore, perhaps add a bit of nuance to your stance on the Academy by pointing out how these new rules would be rather moot if there was more honesty when it came to selecting Best Picture nominations in the first place (we did, after all, just come off a ceremony where Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water received such nominations while The Woman King was snubbed). This way, maybe you’ll contribute something valuable to an important conversation instead of making a complete fool of yourself.