Timothée Chalamet is copping heat from other celebs and the Australian arts community after a clip of him saying “no one cares” about ballet and opera went viral over the weekend.
The clip in question was from an interview between Chalamet and fellow actor Matthew McConaughey, who asked the Marty Supreme star about keeping audiences engaged in a time of shrinking attention spans.
In response, Chalamet brought up the example of the ballet and opera, art forms which he claimed audiences no longer “care about”.
“I don’t want to be working in the ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore’,” Chalamet said.
Perhaps trying to soften the blow, Chalamet said he has “respect to the ballet and opera people out there” and joked that the remark “lost [him] 14 cents in viewership”.
“I just took shots for no reason,” Chalamet laughed.
While the backlash from fans on social media was swift — with some calling Chalamet’s comments “disrespectful” and “sanctimonious” — it reached new heights when other stars and prominent dance companies weighed in.
Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis shared an Instagram Reel from a creator slamming Chalamet for “taking shots at other artists”, while Doja Cat popped off about it on TikTok.
“[Chalamet] had the nerve to say on camera that nobody cares about [ballet and opera],” the singer said. “It doesn’t matter if the industry is having a tough time, it doesn’t mean people don’t care about it. People give a fuck.”
Meanwhile, the official TikTok account of the Australian Ballet cheekily clapped back with a video of ballet performers on stage that was soundtracked by Chalamet’s comments. “We might know a few hundred thousand people who disagree,” the company wrote.
“We love working in ballet and wouldn’t change it for the world,” it added in the caption.
Opera Australia also got in on the mess, sharing snaps of a crying scene from Chalamet’s movie Call Me By Your Name and asking fans to share the opera moments they “*care* about so much that it always moves you to full-body heaving, ugly tears”.
Chalamet has yet to comment on the controversy, but between all the notable clapbacks and a mention of the situation on Saturday Night Live, my guess is the hullabaloo won’t die down anytime soon.
If nothing else, at least Chalamet has given 2026 Oscars host Conan O’Brien plenty of material to work with ahead of his monologue next week.
Lead images: YouTube and TikTok
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