Ballet Dancers, Opera Singers Are Mad at Timothée Chalamet

Hell hath no fury like classic arts being targeted. During his chat with Matthew McConaughey at the University of Texas, Timothée Chalamet had some fighting words for his fellow dancers. “I’m really right in the middle, Matthew. I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, who go on a talk show and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to keep movie theaters alive, we’ve gotta keep this genre alive,’ and another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it,” he shared. “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.’ All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there.” He then joked about the comment he just made, adding, “I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I just took shots for no reason.” Chalamet then mimics opera singing before McConaughey reels him back in.

Amar Smalls, a professional ballet dancer and co-owner of Smallsdance studio, explained in an Instagram video reacting to the clip that people still care about ballet and opera, it’s just that it’s become inaccessible due to the expensive ticket prices and a culture that emphasizes its place in high art. “It’s the equivalent of taking your girl on a date to Nobu or McDonald’s,” he stated, in his comparison to movie-ticket prices. “I think that in the next couple of years the perception of people not caring about ballet or opera will change.”

Three-time Grammy-winning opera singer Isabel Leonard expressed her disappointment in Chalamet for his words. “Honestly, I’m shocked that someone so seemingly successful can be so ineloquent and narrow-minded in his views about art while considering himself an artist, as I would only imagine one would as an actor,” she commented. “To take cheap shots at fellow artists says more in this interview than anything else he could say. Shows a lot about his character. You don’t have to like all art but only a weak person/artist feels the need to diminish in fact the VERY arts that would inspire those who are interested in slowing down, to do exactly that.” Kam Saunders, ballet choreographer and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour dancer, wrapped up his thoughts in the shortest way possible, writing, “Yikes.”