'Flat-Broke' Richard Dreyfuss 'Never Forgave' Son After Tweet Prompted Dad's MeToo Claim: Report

A deeply fractured chapter of the Dreyfuss family resurfaced this week after Ben Dreyfuss published a series of raw, candid posts revisiting the moment he believes destroyed his relationship with his father.

According to Ben, now 39, one tweet he sent from Richard Dreyfuss's account during the height of the MeToo movement became the spark that detonated long-building tensions — and ultimately led to years of estrangement, sparking MeToo-linked drama within one of Hollywood's most recognisable families.

His reflections, shared on X on 13 November, painted a portrait of a family shaken by public allegations, private battles and emotional fallout that never healed.

Ben said Richard, now 78, has no money and claims that even if funds existed, he and his siblings 'wouldn't get it since we've been estranged [from him] ever since some complicated family drama to do with MeToo.'

He added that roots of that turmoil stretch back to 2017, when his younger brother, Harry, accused Kevin Spacey of groping him in 2008. That allegation became the spark that set off an emotional chain reaction through the Dreyfuss household.

Ben said he wanted clarity, not drama, yet the fallout never stopped growing.

Harry Wrote Online Essay About Spacey Incident

Harry detailed his allegation in a lengthy online essay, recalling the moment that occurred in London while visiting his father during work on a stage production. Spacey directed Richard Dreyfuss in the 2009 Old Vic Theatre production of 'Complicit', though Harry's account centred on an incident he said took place one year earlier.

Harry said it unfolded inside Kevin Spacey's flat during what should have been a routine rehearsal. His BuzzFeed essay stated, 'It happened one night when the three of us were alone in Kevin's apartment rehearsing my father's lines.'

He noted that Richard never saw anything, and he stayed silent for years. He admitted, 'My father didn't see, and I didn't tell him about the incident for many years. Instead, I spent the next nine years telling people the story at parties for laughs.'

Harry claimed Spacey acted because 'he knew he could fondle me in a room with my father and that I wouldn't say a word. He knew I wouldn't have had the guts. And I didn't.'
Those sentences later reverberated far beyond Harry's essay.

Richard Blames Ben After A Woman 'MeToo'd' Him

According to Ben, the subsequent rupture occurred after he handled Richard's social media during the height of public discussion about MeToo.

He said he posted a message supporting Harry from Richard's account, and the post quickly drew attention. Ben wrote that his tweet 'prompted someone to "MeToo" my dad', marking the moment he believes Richard turned against him for good.

The woman who MeToo'd Richard was Jessica Teich, a female writer who helped him with a TV script in the 1980s. Teich claimed that the actor behaved inappropriately towards her and even exposed himself to her. Richard denied her account, yet pressure on the family intensified.

Ben said arguments followed them for years. He described repeated clashes and emotional exhaustion, claiming everything finally exploded in 2022. After that, communication stopped entirely.

Ben Reveals Last Correspondence From His Father

On Monday, 17 November, Ben went further by posting what he said was the last email exchange he ever received from Richard. He shared it on his Substack blog, Calm Down, and added, 'I've sent plenty since, but he hasn't replied.'

The messages revisited a 2022 dinner in San Francisco that ended in shouting and accusations over nepotism and public perception. Ben wrote that he struggled to express his complicated feelings about criticism directed at him and failed to communicate them properly. He said he used a homophobic slur during that argument and spent more than a year attempting 'to make amends.'

Richard's reply, written primarily on capitals, accused Ben of believing 'I have money I'm keeping from you' and said Ben and his sister Emily caused a 'public scene' that night.

Richard wrote, 'AT LEAST KEEP THIS ONE LETTER. IT'LL BE THE LAST ONE UNLESS YOU STOP BEING A COWARD. OR START BEING BETTER THAN YOUR BROTHER OR SISTER.'

He ended the message with another warning, 'AS I TOLD YOU, TO START WRITING ME WITHOUT ANY ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU SAID ON THE LAST NIGHT AT THE RESTAURANT. UNTIL YOU ALL WROTE SOMETHING ADDRESSING THE LIES, DISTORTIONS, THAT KEPT A SET OF DIFFERENT FEELINGS, VALUES, KEPT THEM HIDDEN FROM ME, YOU WOULD NOT BE HEARING FROM ME.'

Ben said that the email remains his father's final word.

He later criticised Richard again after his behaviour during a Jaws anniversary event, where Richard attacked MeToo, LGBTQ rights, and Barbra Streisand while wearing a dress. Ben wrote on X that his dad's 'disgusting, outrageous behaviour' explained 'why I refused to give him the password to his own Twitter account for a decade.'