Overview
- During a Variety/CNN event with Matthew McConaughey, Timothée Chalamet said he doesn’t want to work in ballet or opera because “no one cares,” then immediately joked he had “just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
- Opera and ballet figures, including Grammy winner Isabel Leonard and mezzo‑soprano Deepa Johnny, called the comment narrow‑minded and disappointing, while dancer Victor Caixeta noted both forms have endured for centuries.
- Major institutions countered on social media: the Metropolitan Opera highlighted backstage craftsmanship, LA Opera pointed to its selling‑out Akhnaten run, and London’s Royal Ballet and Opera posted “We care” and invited Chalamet to attend.
- Responses spread internationally as the Vienna State Opera extended a personal invitation and the Paris Opera referenced ping‑pong in Nixon in China, while NYCB principals Megan Fairchild and Sara Mearns challenged Chalamet’s implication he could have pursued their disciplines.
- Some supporters argued the clip was taken out of context from a broader point about cinema’s reach, and as of the latest coverage Chalamet has not issued a broader clarification during his ongoing Oscars campaign for Marty Supreme.