Doja Cat leads responses to Timothee Chalamet’s controversial comments about ballet and opera

Timothee Chalamet has landed himself in hot water over comments he made about ballet and opera.

The viral clip was from a conversation with Matthew McConaughey at the University of Texas in February, where the two actors discussed the efforts being made to preserve cinema.

"I don't want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it's like, 'Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore,'" Chalamet said in the video posted by Variety from the "A CNN & Variety Town Hall Event."

"All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there", the four-time Oscar nominee added.

"I just lost 14 cents in viewership," Chalamet quipped. "I just took shots for no reason."

His remarks have since been widely criticised, with some pointing out that his own mother, Nicole Flender, danced with the New York City Ballet as a child and attended Yale on a ballet scholarship.

This familial connection is something Chalamet has previously commented on in an interview where he said, "My grandmother, my mother, my sister danced in the New York City Ballet. I grew up dreaming big at the backstage at the Koch Theater in New York."

Here's a round-up of all the people and organisations who have spoken out.

Doja Cat

"Hey, by the way, opera is 400 years old, ballet is 500 years old. Somebody named Timothee Chalamet had the nerve - big guy by the way - had the nerve to say on camera that nobody cares about it," the musician said in a video posted on TikTok.

"I'm sure you can walk into an opera theatre right now, seats will be filled out and nobody is 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 theatre medium, it's f***ing beautiful and people go there everyday to the dance studio."

She went on to say that industries can have a "tough time", then highlighted how this can also be the case for both film and music, but noted that it "doesn't mean people don't care about it."

"People care, dancers care, the singers care, the audience cares, there's still an audience people give a f***. You show up in a nice outfit, you sit the f*** down, and shut the f*** up, that's the usual etiquette around those things. Maybe learn something from that," she concluded.

Metropolitan Opera

Taking to socials, the Metropolitan Opera posted a video montage of all the work which contributes to one of their productions and directly addressed the actor in their caption, "This one’s for you, @tchalamet…”

The Royal Ballet and Opera

“Ballet and opera have never existed in isolation, they have continually informed, inspired, and elevated other art forms,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“Their influence can be felt across theatre, film, contemporary music, fashion, and beyond. For centuries, these disciplines have shaped the way artists create and audiences experience culture, and today millions of people around the world continue to enjoy and engage with them."

English National Opera

Meanwhile, the English National Opera offered “free tickets on us to help you fall back in love with opera anytime,” in a recent Instagram post.

They said to Chalamet in the caption, “This is your official invitation. Let’s see if we can change your mind.”

Seattle Opera

Seattle Opera responded by using the actor’s name as a promo code for its production of Carmen.

On Instagram, they wrote, “All we’ve got to say is… use promo code TIMOTHEE to save 14% off select seats for Carmen, through this weekend only. Timmy, you’re welcome to use it too. See you at the opera!”

Saturday Night Live

SNL

"Timothee Chalamet has been criticised by major opera and ballet organisations after he said that no one cares about those art forms," Colin Jost said in the show's latest Weekend Update.

"Chalamet made the comments on a press tour for his movie about ping pong," he added, referring to Marty Supreme, which prompted laughter from the audience.

Laura Benanti

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Paramount+

"It was the 'all respect' for me and the assumption that all the people offended by his callous ignorance would only amount to 14 cents worth of losses in ticket sales," the Tony Award winner commented on Variety's post.

In another comment under the Met Opera's post, she added: "He’s gonna be singing a different tune when the live arts are all that’s left after AI takes over. Oh wait. He’s above singing a tune."

Elsewhere from Indy100, Timothée Chalamet stunned by 'personal' question about Kylie Jenner, and Robert Pattinson was quietly in Marty Supreme and no one realised.

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