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Timothée Chalamet is catching criticism for his recent comments about ballet and opera, where the Oscar nominee said that “no one cares” about those art forms.
In an onstage conversation with Variety, Chalamet and actor Matthew McConaughey discussed peoples’ shortened attention spans and whether audiences need action upfront in film. The “Dune” and “Marty Supreme” star said he’s “right in the middle” on the issue, before slamming opera and ballet.
“I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera,” Chalamet said. “Things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.’”
“All respect to the ballet and opera people out there,” he said, seeming to realize the potential blowback to his remarks. “Damn, I just took shots for no reason.”
The actor’s comments have invited an onslaught of online heat from the ballet and opera community.
Megan Fairchild, a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, clapped back at Chalamet in a video on Instagram, mocking his suggestion that he could have been a performer in either field.
“Timmy, I didn’t realize you were a world class dancer or opera singer, who simply chose not to pursue it because acting is more popular,” Fairchild said. “Ballet and opera aren’t niche hobbies people opt out of for fame.”
“Good luck in the Oscar race. Artists supporting artists matters. None of these paths are easy, and there’s no need to put ballet or opera down along the way,” Fairchild wrote in the caption of the video.
The Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera, and Royal Ballet and Opera have all posted on Instagram chiding Chalamet. The Met posted a video highlighting the work of performers, designers and stage crew at the opera, writing, “All respect to the opera (and ballet) people out there” and tagging Chalamet in the caption.
The LA Opera posted a photo from the opera “Akhnaten,” currently on stage in Los Angeles, with the caption “Sorry, @tchalamet. We’d offer you complimentary tickets to Akhnaten, but it’s selling out. There are a few seats left to purchase if you hurry.”
But the Royal Ballet and Opera, the United Kingdom’s premier opera house, offered Chalamet a seat in their audience — while not-so-subtly pointing out that thousands of guests gather for ballet and opera performances every night.
“If you’d like to reconsider, @tchalamet, our doors are open,✨” the post read.
Performers from every discipline slammed Chalamet in the comment section of a video posted by Variety magazine that included the actor’s controversial take. Soprano Candice Hoyes commented, “Opera is not Keeping up w Kardashians.”
“I hope his movies endure for a few hundred years like opera and ballet … this is why knowing history is powerful,” she continued.
Opera singer and three-time Grammy Award winner Isabel Leonard criticized Chalamet for taking “cheap shots at fellow actors.” Conductor Alondra de la Parra expressed her hopes that Chalamet would “rethink” his perspective in the future. “What a let down to hear him say this when he is an idol to so many young people. I hope he can reconsider and attend a concert, take part on a play, go to an opera. And then talk again,” she wrote.
In the wake of his recent comments, some on social media are also trolling Chalamet for wearing a New York City Ballet baseball cap in January. “Timothée, we’re confused,” read a post from a dance magazine on Instagram.
