Timothée Chalamet infuriated the ballet and opera communities with one backhanded remark. The backlash received so intense that his Oscar buzz even declined days forward of the 2026 Academy Awardsfor which he’s nominated for Actor in a Main Function for his efficiency in Marty Supreme. 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 business 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 solution 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, maintain this factor alive, despite the fact that nobody cares about this anymore.”
Proper after dropping that bomb, Timmy shortly added, “All respect to the ballet and opera individuals on the market. I simply misplaced 14 cents in viewership. … Rattling, I simply took photographs for no motive.”
What Did Ballet & Opera Performers Say In opposition to Timothée Chalamet?
The whole 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 couple of celebrities joined in on the backlash in opposition to 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. “Someone named Timothée Chalamet, huge man, by the way in which, had the nerve to say on digital camera that no person cares about it. I’m positive you possibly can stroll into an opera theater proper now, seats will probably be crammed out, and no person’s saying a phrase because the efficiency goes as a result of everyone 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 scenario, 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 someone else’s artwork type, it doesn’t really feel good,” Whoopi mentioned. “You in all probability didn’t notice, till you mentioned, ‘Oh, I’m in hassle,’ however then you definitely 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 may’t say, ‘Oh, that is dumb, no disrespect.’ That’s absolute disrespect.”