What to Know
Though people might assume that Ben Dreyfuss and his siblings get money from their Oscar-winning dad, Richard Dreyfuss, Ben says that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, Ben and his siblings are estranged from their dad and have been for years now.
Ben suggested that Richard ghosted him and his siblings because of the allegations that came to light at the height of the Me Too movement.
In 2017, a woman who collaborated with Richard, 78, in the 80s accused the actor of sexual harassment. The allegations came shortly after one of Richard’s kids, Harry Dreyfuss, came forward with allegations against Kevin Spacey.
According to Ben, Richard blamed his kids for what happened.
In a series of X posts that have since been deleted, Ben explained the “family drama” that led to their estrangement. Per USA Today, he wrote, “Everyone assumes my siblings and I are wealthy from our dad and we’re all a bit too uncomfortable to make it clear, but we have no money from my dad.”
This is, in part, because Richard allegedly has “no money,” Ben claimed. But even if he did have money, he wouldn’t share it with his children. “If he did, we wouldn’t get it since we’ve been estranged ever since some complicated family drama to do with MeToo,” Ben wrote.
After Harry came forward with his allegations against Kevin, Richard shared a post expressing his support for his son. But apparently, Ben was the one managing Richard’s social media at the time. A post shared from Richard’s account at the time read, “I love my son @harrydreyfuss more than I could explain with all the words in the world. And I am so incredibly proud of him right now.”
Then, a woman came forward with her own allegations against Richard. “That tweet prompted someone to MeToo my dad. He blames us for that,” Ben wrote. “This led to years of acrimony.”
The Me Too allegations led to years of family drama and fights, Ben said. “Then in 2022, it blew up to the point of [not] speaking anymore,” he continued.
Ben said he loves his dad, but he doesn’t see their relationship improving.
In his initial X posts, Ben said he has tried to repair his relationship with his father, but to no avail. After his X posts went viral, he later published his last interaction with his father via Substack. He wrote that he decided to share the exchange because he’s “not blameless” either. “It’s long and pathetic, and he comes off worse than I do, but I’m not exactly covered in glory either,” Ben admitted.
In his last email to his son, Richard allegedly wrote, “IF I WIN THE LOTTERY BEFORE I DIE IT WON’T CAUSE ME TO REWRITE MY WILL. I WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO SEND TO YOU BUT I WON’T. 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.”
In a response to his father, Ben wrote, “I hope to God that I am never as consumed with blind rage as you seem to be at me,” among other things.
Reflecting on his decision to share the emails on Substack, he wrote, “I love my father. I have always loved him. I think he’s better than this email. But it’s been two years, and this appears to be the last email I’m ever going to get from him, so f— it.”
