Richard Dreyfuss couldn’t blame a shark attack for his absence at SharkCon this past week.
The 77-year-old recorded a message to fans who’d headed to the convention in Florida expecting to see him, and said he was “very, very sorry” to share that he’d been diagnosed with viral bronchitis.
“I’ve been told by my doctors I cannot fly, and I would have to fly five hours to get there,” Dreyfuss shared in an Instagram video, while wearing a “Jaws” blanket to cover himself. “I’m terribly sorry because I had planned to be there and I had been looking forward to it, but I am unable to do so.”
Dreyfuss said he didn’t “want to get anyone else sick” and also didn’t want to get more ill himself.
“I want you all to feel very sorry for me, and very sorry for yourselves,” the actor said, laughing, before landing on a more serious note.
“I’m in a lot of pain and that has to come first ― my health,” he said. “I feel very good about having the time and enough health.”
Dreyfuss’ celebrity friends and fans alike all wished him messages of good health in the comments.
“Honey, feel better,” Sharon Stone wrote. “The world is not good without you then come over and give me a hug.”
Comedian Rosie O’Donnell added, “i love u richard” alongside four heart emojis.
Last year around this time, the actor and producer made headlines for attending a screening of “Jaws.” The actor, who came out on stage wearing a dress, was accused of making homophobic, transphobic and misogynistic comments by multiple outlets.
The venue that held the screening in Beverly, Massachusetts, later issued an apology for Dreyfuss’ comments.
“We deeply regret the distress that this has caused to many of our patrons,” the venue, called The Cabot, said at the time. “We regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic movie instead became a platform for political views.”
