Chalamet thought that ballet and opera no longer interested anyone. Doja Cat, Grammy winner Isabel Leonard and opera houses proved otherwise.
Are opera and ballet really irrelevant now or what? According to Timothée Chalamet, yes. Recently, a clip of the “Marty Supreme” actor alongside his co-star Matthew McConaughey at an event on February 24 went viral.
The comment that started everything
Speaking to Variety and CNN about the film industry’s struggles in a society with short attention spans, Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey talked about why people would still watch movies – prompting Chalamet, 30, to comment: “I don’t want to work in ballet or opera or in fields where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive even if nobody really cares about it anymore.’ With all due respect to all the ballet and opera people out there.”
He then realized that the statement might be difficult to take and tried to talk it down: “Damn, I just dealt for no reason.”
Institutions are fighting back
Because that’s exactly what happened. Shortly after his statement went viral, numerous ballet and opera institutions spoke out. The New York City Opera posted a TikTok in response to his comment, with the caption “This is Timothée Chalamet for you… 👀.”
Well-known opera singers and ballet dancers also responded to his statement. Isabel Leonard, Grammy winner, wrote: “I am shocked that someone who appears to be so successful can be as clumsy and narrow-minded in his views on art while considering himself an artist, as I could only imagine an actor being.”
Doja Cat teaches a lesson in etiquette
Finally, rapper Doja Cat even spoke up with a video on social media. “Hey, by the way, the opera is 400 years old, the ballet is 500 years old.”
She further explained, “It doesn’t matter if the industry is going through a difficult time, because many industries are having a hard time right now. Your industry is having a hard time, my industry is having a hard time. That doesn’t mean people don’t care. People are interested in it. The dancers are interested in it, the singers are interested in it, the audience is interested in it. There is still an audience. You come in a nice outfit, sit down and shut up. That’s the usual etiquette at events like this. Maybe you can learn something from that.”
Harsh words against the actor. However, the fact that such a statement comes from him is surprising: after all, his mother studied at the School of American Ballet, and he recently wore a cap from the New York City Ballet.
The mime himself has not yet responded to Doja Cats or other reactions.
