Overview
- Nicole Flender told People at the American Ballet Theatre spring gala on May 20 that "Timmy didn't take ballet classes" and that it was his sister Pauline who trained formally.
- Flender said the family has deep ties to the New York City Ballet but emphasized that Timothée’s childhood footage showed informal participation rather than formal school training.
- The clarification follows Chalamet’s February remark that he did not want to be working in ballet or opera, which drew criticism from members of the performing-arts community.
- Flender described her son as having done his own dancing in youth and noted he was a rap artist in high school, using those details to distinguish his path from classical training.
- The exchange highlights how archival social media footage can reshape public narratives and shows family members stepping in to correct the record while the earlier backlash remains part of the story.