Bruce Springsteen has held a rather unusual grudge against Steven Spielberg for five decades, and it all goes back to Jaws. The rocker finally shared his complaint, taking a playful dig at the director over how his 1975 shark thriller changed one of Springsteen’s favorite summer pastimes. Their 30-year friendship has not stopped him from holding Spielberg responsible for the loss.

While Spielberg sat there collecting tributes, Springsteen was quietly preparing a charge sheet on what Jaws did to the Jersey Shore.

Bruce Springsteen says Steven Spielberg’s shark thriller changed how everyone saw the ocean

Bruce Springsteen says Steven Spielberg ruined night swimming with Jaws. Speaking at the Museum of Modern Art’s annual Film Benefit in New York on Thursday, where Spielberg was honored, the rocker joked that the 1975 shark thriller had destroyed one of his favorite Jersey Shore pastimes. The film became widely regarded as the first summer blockbuster, but Springsteen believes it also made beachgoers afraid of the water.

“One of the great pleasures on the Jersey Shore in 1975 was night swimming, preferably n**** with someone you wanted to have s** with,” Springsteen told the Museum of Modern Art crowd.

He then added, “He f***** it up good. Over the years, I asked myself, ‘Why would a nice man like that, why would he do that?’”

According to Variety, Springsteen’s case against Spielberg comes from several trips aboard the director’s boat, a much fancier version of the vessel from Jaws, complete with its own pool. Despite being surrounded by water, Spielberg reportedly refuses to swim in either the ocean or the pool. Springsteen even joked that he was not sure he had ever seen the filmmaker in a bathing suit, making his fear of water the reason night swimming never recovered.

While Springsteen questions Spielberg’s relationship with water, moviegoers have spent decades happily diving into his films, and the box office receipts back them up.

Steven Spielberg’s box office reign has survived generations of filmmakers

Steven Spielberg remains the highest-grossing director of all time, with more than $11 billion in worldwide box office as of November 2026. That total comes from nearly five decades of steady hits. He has broken the record for highest-grossing film of all time three times, first with Jaws at nearly $495 million, then with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at $797.3 million, and again with Jurassic Park, which crossed $1 billion worldwide.

James Cameron follows in second place with $10.591 billion, roughly $415 million behind Spielberg despite directing far fewer films. Christopher Nolan ranks third at $8.048 billion, boosted by The Odyssey. Spielberg’s Disclosure Day brought in a modest $248 million worldwide this summer, according to Variety, but his box office lead remains intact. The figures are not adjusted for inflation. Night swimming may be ruined, but Steven Spielberg is doing just fine staying dry and rich.

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