Steven Spielberg has joined the growing list of entertainment figures responding critically to Timothée Chalamet’s recent comments about opera and ballet.
Chalamet, 30, made his candid remarks during a conversation with Matthew McConaughey, where he expressed his desire for the continued survival of movie theaters.
He then added that ‘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 no one cares about this anymore,’ in an interview for Variety‘s Actors on Actors.
“All respect to the ballet and opera people out there,” Chalamet said, acknowledging his controversial statement. The actor, who is in the running for a Best Actor Oscar for his role in the table tennis film, “Marty Supreme,” added, “I just lost 14 cents in viewership; I just took shots for no reason.”
His comments sparked a backlash from the theatrical community, drawing ire from notable figures such as ballerina Misty Copeland and stage and screen veteran Nathan Lane.
Now, Steven Spielberg, a three-time Oscar recipient, has voiced his own critique of Chalamet. This follows reports from insiders to the Daily Mail about a “Stop Timmy” movement gaining momentum as the Academy Awards approach.
Timothee Chalamet’s swipe at opera and ballet, made during a Variety interview with Matthew McConaughey, has drawn a withering response from Steven Spielberg
Spielberg subtly addressed Chalamet’s remarks while discussing the future of movie theaters during an interview at the South by Southwest film festival, adding his perspective to the ongoing debate.
‘But for me, the real experience comes when we can influence a community to congregate in a strange, dark space where all of us are strangers,’ he said.
‘At the end of a really good movie experience, we are all united with a whole bunch of feelings that we walk into the daylight with, or into the nighttime with. And there’s nothing like that. It happens in movies, and in concerts. And it happens in ballet and opera, by the way,’ he added, according to Variety.
The audience cheered and laughed at the obvious Chalamet dig, and Spielberg noted with a smile: ‘And we want that to be sustained. We want that to go on forever.’
Chalamet’s dig at opera and ballet came when he and McConaughey were discussing the Hollywood figures who make public statements in support of movie theaters.
‘I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, doing a talk show about how we’ve got to keep movie theatres alive, you know, we’ve got to keep this genre alive,’ he said.
‘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 added, noting opera and ballet do not have that mainstream audience.
When he then apologized for the ‘shot’ he had taken at the art form, McConaughey said: ‘That’s not a shot, I hear what you’re saying.’
Spielberg inveighed against Chalamet while discussing his own hopes for movie theaters during an onstage interview at the South by Southwest film festival in Texas
Nathan Lane, an Oscar nominee and three-time Tony winner, lambasted Chalamet as a ‘schmuck’ while discussing the controversy on The View; Lane pictured in 2024
Opera fans and balletomanes were left seething at Chalamet’s comments, with two classical singers going as far as to chastise him in public.
‘Honestly, I’m shocked that someone so seemingly successful can be so ineloquent and narrow-minded in his views about art while considering himself as an artist as I would only imagine one would as an actor,’ said American opera star Isabel Leonard.
Canadian mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny said: ‘What a disappointing take. There is nothing more impressive than the magic of live theatre, ballet and opera. We should be trying to uplift these art forms, these artists and come together across disciplines to do that. The impact of these mediums are long, long-lasting and life-changing.’
Nathan Lane, an Oscar nominee and three-time Tony winner, lambasted Chalamet as a ‘schmuck’ while discussing the controversy on The View.
‘One doesn’t want to give this more attention than it deserves, and yet, it was kind of kaleidoscopic in its stupidity and insensitivity,’ he said.
‘It’s strangely telling about where we are in this country. First of all, one should remember people will be going to see Swan Lake and La Traviata long after someone at a dinner party says: “Who is Timothee Chalamet?”‘
Turning his disdain on Marty Supreme, Lane quipped that ‘if you think nobody cares about opera and ballet, I can’t tell you how much we don’t care about ping pong!’
He added: ‘In his defense, he was doing it with Matthew McConaughey, so I’m thinking some weed was smoked and this may just be a tragic case.’
His comments drew outrage from theatrical performers ranging from ballerina Misty Copeland (pictured this month in New York) to London’s Royal Ballet and Opera
Another gentle response came from world-famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli – a favorite of Kim Kardashian, whose sister Kylie Jenner is dating Chalamet
However Chalamet was defended by Slovak pop act Adela, who began her showbiz career as a ballerina but is now opening for Demi Lovato on tour as a singer.
‘I think people are maybe blowing it out of proportion,’ she said when she was asked about Chalamet’s remarks in an LAX interview with TMZ.
‘I’ve seen it but it’s just like, I don’t think he meant it like that. I think it’s fine,’ she added. ‘He’s not wrong. It is kind of a dying art form. It’s sad. If anything, he just highlighted that. I think people are very upset, but as a ballerina, it kinda is. People should be going to the ballet more. Honestly, maybe this is good publicity.’
Another gentle response came from world-famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli – a favorite of Kim Kardashian, whose sister Kylie Jenner is dating Chalamet.
‘I am convinced that a sensitive performer like Timothee, who understands the power of emotions, may one day discover that opera and dance draw from that very same source,’ the singing superstar said in a statement to People.
‘Should he ever be curious, I would be happy to welcome him as a guest at one of my concerts. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes of hearing this music live to understand why, after centuries, it continues to be loved all over the world.’
