Recommendations of the Editorial team
Ballet and opera companies from all over the world have set their sights on Timothée Chalamet, after the actor made unflattering comments about the art forms in an interview.
In February, Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey sat down for a town hall event in Austin, Texas, produced by Variety and CNN, to talk about their craft. When the talk turned to the audience’s dwindling attention span, Chalamet said, “I don’t want to work in ballet or opera. Things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this alive even if nobody cares about it anymore.'”
Quickly realizing how derogatory his comment might sound, Chalamet added: “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. Damn, I just lashed out for no reason.”
Reactions worldwide
Although the town hall event had already been broadcast in February, Chalamet’s comments made the rounds again on a global scale this week – with many of the world’s leading opera and ballet institutions speaking out.
The Los Angeles Opera wrote on social media: “Sorry, @tchalamet. We would offer you free tickets to Akhnaten, but the performances are sold out. There are still a few tickets left – hurry up.”
London’s Royal Ballet and Opera said on social media: “Every night thousands of people gather at the Royal Opera House – for ballet and opera. For the music. For the storytelling. And for the pure magic of the live experience. If you want to change your mind, @tchalamet: our doors are open.”
Dancer settles the score
New York City Ballet dancer Megan Fairchild followed up in a video posted on Instagram: “Timmy, I didn’t realize that you were a world-class dancer or opera singer who simply chose not to pursue such a career because acting is more popular. Ballet and opera are not niche hobbies that you ignore for fame.”
Fairchild continued: “Good luck in the Oscars race. Artists supporting other artists – that’s what counts. None of these paths are easy, and there’s no reason to denigrate ballet or opera in the process.”
As Pointe Magazine notes, Chalamet’s comments are particularly piquant given his own family history: His mother, Nicole Flender, studied at the School of American Ballet and received a dance scholarship to Yale, and later taught dance in New York public schools. Chalamet himself was also recently photographed wearing a New York City Ballet cap.
Metropolitan Opera is in touch
The Metropolitan Opera wrote in a post that Chalamet directly tagged: “All respect to the opera (and ballet) people out there.”
