Timothée Chalamet infuriated the ballet and opera communities with one backhanded remark. The backlash acquired so intense that his Oscar buzz even declined days forward of the 2026 Academy Awardsfor which he was nominated for Actor in a Main Position for his efficiency in Marty Supreme. Michael B. Jordan gained the award. Some persons are nonetheless catching up on the controversy, so what precisely did Timothée say?
Right here’s what Timmy truly mentioned that resulted within the widespread criticism.
What Did Timothée Chalamet Say About Ballet & Opera?
Timothée sat down with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey throughout a CNN & Selection City Corridor occasion in late February 2026 and mentioned the state of the movie trade and Timothée’s motivation in it.
“And one other a part of me looks like, if individuals need to see it, like Barbielike Oppenheimerthey’re going to go see it and exit of their strategy to be loud and proud about it,” the A Full Unknown star started. “And I don’t need to be working in ballet or opera or issues the place it’s like, hey, hold this factor alive, regardless that nobody cares about this anymore.”
Proper after dropping that bomb, Timmy rapidly added, “All respect to the ballet and opera individuals on the market. I simply misplaced 14 cents in viewership. … Rattling, I simply took pictures for no motive.”
What Did Ballet & Opera Performers Say Towards Timothée Chalamet?
All the ballet and opera communities took to social media to voice their frustrations over Timothée’s remark. Among the many most notable names was the Metropolitan Opera, which shared an Instagram video of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into crafting stage productions. The clip was captioned, “This one’s for you, @tchalamet.”
Which Celebrities Responded to Timothée Chalamet’s Ballet & Opera Joke?
Fairly a number of celebrities joined in on the backlash towards the Wonka star, together with Doja Cat. She took to TikTok in a since-deleted video to share her response.
“Opera is 400 years previous. Ballet is 500 years previous,” Doja mentioned. “Any individual named Timothée Chalamet, large man, by the way in which, had the nerve to say on digital camera that no one cares about it. I’m positive you may stroll into an opera theater proper now, seats will probably be crammed out, and no one’s saying a phrase because the efficiency goes as a result of all people has that a lot respect for it. There’s an etiquette round opera. There’s etiquette round ballet. It’s superb. It’s a tremendous theater medium. It’s fucking lovely.”
The ladies on The View additionally chimed in on the state of affairs, with co-host Whoopi Goldberg declaring that Timmy’s mom and sister have backgrounds in dance.
“You come from a dance household, so if you crap on any individual else’s artwork type, it doesn’t really feel good,” Whoopi mentioned. “You in all probability didn’t understand, till you mentioned, ‘Oh, I’m in hassle,’ however then you definately compounded it and mentioned, ’14 cents.’ No, when individuals get mad, it’ll be much more than 14 cents, so watch out. I’m simply saying. Watch out, boy. … He’s a boy to me. Actually, don’t apologize if you’ve insulted. It doesn’t sound correct. You possibly can’t say, ‘Oh, that is dumb, no disrespect.’ That’s absolute disrespect.”