Timothée Chalamet is facing a wave of criticism after comments he made about ballet and opera during a Variety and CNN town hall in late February 2026. He made the controversial remarks at the University of Texas at Austin during an interview with Matthew McConaughey. While talking about challenges that movie theaters are facing, the actor shifted to other art forms and made comments that many people viewed as dismissive. At the time Chalamet made those remarks, he was in the final stage of his Oscar campaign for Marty Supreme.
During the conversation, Chalamet said he would not want to work in ballet or opera because they are art forms where people are trying to keep something alive even though, in his words, “no one cares about it anymore.” The comment drew laughter from the crowd and from McConaughey. Then, the actor tried to soften the comments by saying he respected people in ballet and opera, and tried to joke, saying that he lost viewership due to his comments. Read and listen to his remarks here:
“I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or you know, things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive,’ even though it’s like, no one cares about this anymore.”
Watch the full interview below:
The reaction online was immediate, with multiple ballet dancers, opera singers, public figures, and arts organizations criticizing what he said and defending the value of both art forms. Despite the backlash, this is not expected to seriously damage his Oscar chances to win Best Actor. Even though his comments became public on February 24, 2026, the Academy Awards voting officially closed on March 5, 2026. By then, many Academy voters had probably made their final choices.