Timothée Chalamet appears to be having a tough time after his statement on the relevance of opera and ballet from last month recently went viral.
The actor had been speaking with Matthew McConaughey at the University of Texas on February 24 about efforts to preserve cinema.
While he appreciated people working to keep the theatrical experience of moviegoing viable, he said, “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or in things where it's like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive,’ even though no one cares about this anymore.”
Highlights
- Timothée Chalamet sparked backlash online after a viral clip showed him suggesting opera and ballet are art forms people no longer care about.
- The controversy quickly turned into meme fodder, with social media users mocking the actor through parody posters like How to Lose an Oscar in 10 Days.
- Celebrities such as Doja Cat and institutions like The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Ballet, and Opera have responded by defending the long-standing cultural relevance of opera and ballet.
The masses have been unforgiving toward Chalamet ever since, producing several memes to express their disagreement with his stance on the art forms.
One meme used the poster for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days to mock Chalamet
Image credits: Variety
As soon as Timothée Chalamet made his statement, he seemed to realize he had made a mistake and did not refrain from acknowledging it.
“All respect to the ballet and opera people out there,” he quickly added to redeem himself at the Variety/CNN town hall event, where he was promoting Marty Supreme, which has earned nine nominations at the upcoming Oscars.
“I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I’m taking shots for no reason,” he further said.
Image credits: Variety
A meme circulating online shows Chalamet’s face photoshopped over Kate Hudson’s on the iconic How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days poster.
Instead of the movie’s original title on the poster, the artwork featuring Chalamet reads: “How to Lose an Oscar in 10 Days.”
“This is accurate. I’m crying,” one netizen wrote in response, while another added, “Oh, this is good. Don’t know what he was thinking.”
“The fact that the other person is canonically still Matthew McConaughey is hilarious,” said a third.
“You guys are so mean,” noted a fourth.
Image credits: CaseClosed007
“Imagine the Oscar ceremony held at an opera and hired ballerina dancers to mock Chalamet,” a fifth remarked.
“He was never going to win it regardless,” commented another.
Some, however, defended Chalamet while explaining why his Oscar run is safe amid the controversy
Image credits: Kalshi_Culture/X
One fan pointed out that the Oscars ballot closed long ago (Thursday, March 5), hence the ballet/opera rage would not hold much relevance, while another said that the Academy “judges performances in the movie,” and not what one says on the internet.
“Will Smith won after he slapped a man. Chalamet will be fine from fake outrage,” expressed a third.
Image credits: A24
“You will be shocked when he scoops it,” the next predicted.
“People have never heard ‘all publicity is good publicity.’ This wouldn’t sway the Oscars,” a fifth asserted.
Image credits: DL45212437
Image credits: Kaps_NG
“He is a wonderful actor,” another wrote, while someone else advised people to “move on.”
Moving on from the matter does not seem to be happening anytime soon, though, as the actor’s statement has gone beyond just being a topic of heated social media debate.
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Several celebrities and performing arts institutions have criticized Chalamet’s comments
Doja Cat took to TikTok on Sunday, March 8, to inform Chalamet that “Opera is 400 years old” and “Ballet is 500 years old.”
“I’m sure you can walk into an opera theater now, and the seats will be filled, and nobody’s saying a word during the performance because everybody has that much respect for it,” the singer and rapper continued.
“There is etiquette around opera. There is etiquette around ballet. It’s amazing. It's an amazing theater medium. It’s f**ing beautiful," she added.
On March 5, the Metropolitan Opera responded to the remarks by highlighting several behind-the-scenes departments involved in putting on a stage production.
“All respect to the opera (and ballet) people out there,” the organization wrote in onscreen text reframing a portion of Chalamet’s statement, adding in the caption, “This one’s for you, @tchalamet.”
The UK’s Royal Ballet and Opera invited the Oscar-nominated actor to attend a show, noting that “thousands of people” fill their seats on a nightly basis, for the sheer magic of live performance.
Image credits: Shubham43027700
Image credits: msArsanti
Colin Jost reacted to the uproar during Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, drawing applause from the studio audience when he took a dig at Marty Supreme, calling it “a movie about ping pong.”
Image credits: Tommaso Boddi/WWD/Getty Images
An X user named mamboitaliano, known for promoting Italian culture, directly addressed Chalamet, saying, “Mocking opera is no small thing.”
“Opera was born in Italy, in Florence, in the late 1500s and early 1600s, and it deserves respect. Maybe you and your girlfriend should give it a try,” she added.
"Such a tone deaf thing to say when you are literally making a living in a film," a netizen observed
