Richard Dreyfuss Slams New Diversity Requirements for Oscar Contention: ‘They Make Me Vomit’

Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss issued some criticism for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences new diversity and inclusion standards, saying that the updated requirements for Oscar contention make me vomit.

Dreyfuss comments came during a wide-ranging interview on PBS Firing Line With Margaret Hoover, in which the actor discussed civics education in the United States, partisan discourse and the Academys diversity inclusion initiative.

Its an art. 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. What are we risking? Are we really risking hurting peoples feelings? You cant legislate that, Dreyfuss told Hoover. You have to let life be life. Im sorry, I dont think there is a minority or majority in the country that has to be catered to like that.

The four new diversity and inclusion standards were first announced in 2020; they will be instituted for the upcoming 2024 Academy Awards, with two of the four needing to be fulfilled for a valid submission for best picture. The four standards are described as expanding on-screen representation, themes or narrative; expanding representation among creative leadership and department heads; providing industry access and opportunities to underrepresented demographics; and expanding representation in audience development.

Dreyfuss comments continued with a defense of Laurence Oliviers performance in the 1965 feature Othello, in which the English actor played the Shakespeare lead in blackface.

He played a Black man brilliantly. Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man? Is someone else being told that if theyre not Jewish, they shouldnt play [in] The Merchant of Venice? Are we crazy? Dreyfuss stated. This is so patronizing. Its so thoughtless and treating people like children.

Dreyfuss most prominent credits include Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, American Graffiti, W., and Mr. Hollands Opus. He won the Academy Award for best actor for The Goodbye Girl. The interview with Dreyfuss also touched on renewed efforts to control curriculum and ban certain books in public schools.

I think were cowards. Republicans send their children schools hoping and praying that their children will come back Republicans and Democrats send their children to school urgently praying that their children come back Democrats, Dreyfuss said. The idea that a parent would walk into a public school and say, I dont want my children exposed to opposing views. Thats wrong.