Timothée Chalamet infuriated the ballet and opera communities with one backhanded comment. The backlash got so intense that his Oscar buzz even declined days ahead of the 2026 Academy Awards, for which he was nominated for Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in Marty Supreme. Michael B. Jordan won the award. Some people are still catching up on the controversy, so what exactly did Timothée say?
Here’s what Timmy actually said that resulted in the widespread criticism.
What Did Timothée Chalamet Say About Ballet & Opera?
Timothée sat down with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey during a CNN & Variety Town Hall event in late February 2026 and discussed the state of the film industry and Timothée’s motivation in it.
“And another part of me feels like, if people want to see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it,” the A Complete Unknown star began. “And I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it’s like, hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.”
Right after dropping that bomb, Timmy quickly added, “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership. … Damn, I just took shots for no reason.”
What Did Ballet & Opera Performers Say Against Timothée Chalamet?
The entire ballet and opera communities took to social media to voice their frustrations over Timothée’s comment. Among the 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?
Quite a few celebrities joined in on the backlash against the Wonka star, including Doja Cat. She took to TikTok in a since-deleted video to share her reaction.
“Opera is 400 years old. Ballet is 500 years old,” Doja said. “Somebody named Timothée Chalamet, big guy, by the way, had the nerve to say on camera that nobody cares about it. I’m sure you can walk into an opera theater right now, seats will be filled out, and nobody’s saying a word as the performance is going because everybody has that much respect for it. There is an etiquette around opera. There is etiquette around ballet. It’s amazing. It’s an amazing theater medium. It’s fucking beautiful.”
The women on The View also chimed in on the situation, with co-host Whoopi Goldberg pointing out that Timmy’s mother and sister have backgrounds in dance.
“You come from a dance family, so when you crap on somebody else’s art form, it doesn’t feel good,” Whoopi said. “You probably didn’t realize, until you said, ‘Oh, I’m in trouble,’ but then you compounded it and said, ’14 cents.’ No, when people get mad, it’ll be a lot more than 14 cents, so be careful. I’m just saying. Be careful, boy. … He is a boy to me. Really, don’t apologize when you’ve insulted. It doesn’t sound right. You can’t say, ‘Oh, this is dumb, no disrespect.’ That’s absolute disrespect.”
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