The video shows Richard Dreyfuss wearing 5 outfits before an anti-trans rant

TMZ has obtained surveillance footage from late May … showing Richard being helped by several employees at Worthy Girl Consignment in Beverly, MA — where he later took the stage to make several controversial comments, including trans faux pas.

As you can see — the staff can be seen helping the Oscar winner try on 5 different looks… before finally choosing one and laughing with the shopper.

We’re told Richard stayed at the consignment store for about 30 minutes and eventually slipped into the floral blue dress she wore on stage — which our sources say is from plus-size brand Torrid and costs $20.99.

As we reported earlier … the actor then did a Controversial appearance Saturday evening at the Cabot Theater … she stepped out in questionable attire before making a rant about the trans community — among other inflammatory comments.

Now, Worthy Girl Consignment is furious… and an employee tells us the actor’s rant insulted their core customers, the LGBTQ+ community.

The employee says they thought RD was a cute, little old guy — they never knew he planned any of it.

It’s interesting… Of all the stores in Beverly, Richard’s has selected eligible women’s merchandise… The business makes it clear that it’s pro-LGBTQ+ by hanging it on its storefront.

Whether or not Richard realized the irony at the time is unclear. Either way, we’re told the store is capitalizing on the controversy for a good cause, designing a Pride shirt commemorating the incident — with proceeds going to the North Shore Alliance for GLBTQ+ Youth.