Richard Dreyfuss Slams New Oscars Diversity Rules Saying: ‘They Make Me Want to Puke’

Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind) isn’t happy with all of the new Oscars diversity rules that have been implemented by the Academy of Arts and Sciences. The new rules that have been set are in place for film projects to be eligible for the Best Picture award at the Oscars, and Dreyfuss isn’t holding back his real feelings about it and bumps into diversity rules.

Dreyfuss recently appeared on PBS’ Line of fire and during the conversation host Margaret Hoover said: “Starting in 2024, films will have to meet new inclusion standards to be eligible for the Academy Awards for Best Picture. They will need to have a certain percentage of actors or crew from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups.”

In response to this, Dreyfuss said: “They make me throw up. This is an art form. It’s also a form of commerce and it makes money, but it’s an art. No one should tell me as an artist that I have to give in to the newest and most current idea of ​​what morality is.

Dreyfuss added: “And what are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You cannot legislate on this. And you have to let life be life. The legendary actor went on to say that he doesn’t “think there’s a minority or a majority in the country that needs to be catered to like that.”

Dreyfuss continued to praise Lorenzo Oliviero’s blackface Othello, and said: “I was told that I will never get the chance to play a black man? Is anyone else being told that if he’s not Jewish he shouldn’t be playing the “Merchant of Venice”? We are crazy? Don’t we know that art is art?

The series host went on to ask Dreyfuss, “Do you think there’s a difference between the question of … who is allowed to represent other groups … and the case for blackface explicitly in this country given the history of slavery and Sensitivities Around Black Racism?”

Dreyfuss responded by saying, “It shouldn’t be there because it’s condescending. Because he says we are so fragile that we can’t hurt our feelings. We must anticipate that our feelings will be hurt, our children’s feelings hurt. We don’t know how to stand up and hit the bully in the face.

As you can imagine, Dreyfuss is getting a lot of backlash for his comments. The thing is, nothing stops Dreyfuss from making the kind of art he wants to make. He has the freedom to make any movie he wants and to play any character he wants. They’re not saying that he can’t make his films the way he wants, they’re just saying that if his art doesn’t play by the rules he won’t be nominated.

I mean, not many people seem to care about the Oscars these days, anyway. The ceremony has gotten pretty bland in recent years.