Timothée Chalamet faces criticism for opera, ballet comments ahead of Oscars

With less than a week to go before the 2026 Oscars, Timothée Chalamet is facing backlash for comments he made about opera and ballet in a recent interview.

The actor has specifically been criticized by some in the arts community for saying “no one cares” about ballet and opera, suggesting they are dying arts.

“I admire people — and I’ve done it myself — [who] go on a talk show and go, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive, you know, we gotta keep this genre alive,'” Chalamet said during a town hall with Matthew McConaughey in late February, presented by CNN and Variety. “And I don’t wanna be working in ballet or opera or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive,’ even though it’s like, no one cares about this anymore.”

Chalamet quickly added, “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there,” as the crowd laughed.

“I just lost 14 cents in viewership,” he said.

Megan Fairchild, a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, responded to Chalamet’s comments on Instagram last week, sharing a video of herself alongside a caption that read in part, “Artists supporting artists matters. None of these paths are easy, and there’s no need to put ballet or opera down along the way.”

“Ballet and opera aren’t niche hobbies people opt out of for fame,” Fairchild said in the video. “They’re disciplines you can only enter if you have the rare ability for them in the first place.”

Conductor Alondra de la Parra also joined the chorus of pushback in a viral Instagram video in which she walks out of a prop coffin, saying jokingly, “I’m coming out of my coffin, because… we’re dead.”

The Seattle Opera, meanwhile, seized on Chalamet’s comments as an opportunity to promote its production of “Carmen,” giving operagoers 14% off tickets with the promo code “TIMOTHEE.”

“Timmy, you’re welcome to use it too,” the company wrote in the caption of an Instagram post Friday.

Chalamet has previously spoken about his family’s own history in the arts, particularly his mother’s, grandmother’s and sister’s ballet careers.

“I grew up backstage at the New York City Ballet. My grandmother danced in the New York City Ballet, my mother danced in the New York City Ballet, my sister danced in the New York City Ballet,” he said in an interview last December promoting Marty Supreme, which has since resurfaced online.

The pushback comes just days ahead of the 98th Academy Awards, which take place Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Chalamet has been on a roll this award season, winning best actor statuettes at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards and more.

Chalamet started off award season as the Oscar favorite for lead actor, though in recent weeks Sinners star Michael B. Jordan has emerged as another strong contender.

Kelley Carter, ABC News entertainment contributor, pointed to the timing of the backlash to Chalamet’s February town hall remarks, saying it is important to keep in mind that “awards season is a political campaign.”

“While you’re not going to see outright smear campaigns, you are going to see people resurfacing maybe unfavorable interviews at times,” she said.

ABC News has reached out to Chalamet’s representatives for comment.

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