Richard Dreyfuss finds new Oscar contention rules 'vomit' inducing

Jaws actor Richard Dreyfuss is not a fan of the Academy’s new inclusivity rules, the Oscar winner revealed in a new interview with PBS.

The veteran Hollywood star went as far as to say the new rules ‘make him vomit’.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new diversity and inclusion standards were first announced in 2020. They will be implemented at the 2024 Academy Awards, with two of the four conditions set necessary for films to be considered for best picture award.

“It’s 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 people’s feelings? You can’t legislate that,” Dreyfuss said during the interview.

“You have to let life be life. I’m sorry, I don’t think there is a minority or majority in the country that has to be catered to like that.”

The new rules aim to achieve greater on-screen representation in themes as well as narratives. The initiative hopes to open doors for underrepresented communities.

Dreyfuss’ also proceeded to defend Laurence Olivier’s role in the 1965 feature “Othello,” in which the English actor played the Shakespeare protagonist 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 they’re not Jewish, they shouldn’t play [in] ‘The Merchant of Venice’? Are we crazy?” Dreyfuss said. “This is so patronizing. It’s so thoughtless and treating people like children.”

The actor also touched upon the subject of Republicans banning school curriculums, criticizing the move as cowardly.