What Timothee Chalamet said about opera and ballet as Doja Cat shuts him down

With less than a week to go until the Oscars Timothee Chalamet has brought on the ire of Hollywood over comments that have been widely branded ‘insensitive’ with names such as Doja Cat slamming the actor.

Chalamet was nominated for Best Actor for his titular role in Marty Supreme, with the New York native becoming the internet’s darling for his inventive press tour for the film. Now though he has faced criticism from A-List names like Whoopi Goldberg and Jamie Lee Curtis for his comments about the ballet and opera, with Doja Cat posting a TikTok slamming him.

The viral clip that’s getting Chalamet into hot water came from an interview held with fellow Interstellar actor Matthew McConaughey in which the pair discussed the future of acting.

The Interstellar father and son pairing both got themselves into hot water (YouTube/CNN)

McConaughey himself got into hot water after discussing how acting would soon be dominated by AI actors, with fans online criticising him for not disclosing that he has several investments into AI. Chalamet’s comments however have gone far more viral.

Chalamet said that ‘no one cares’ about ballet and opera

Speaking to McConaughey in a Variety and CNN Town Hall Chalamet expressed his inner conflict about encouraging people to come out and support movie theatres.

He explained he was ‘right in the middle’, adding: “I admire people and I've done it myself to go on a talk show and go, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive. You know, we gotta keep this genre alive.’

"Another part of me feels like, if people wanna see it like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they're gonna go see it and go outta their way to be loud and proud about it.”

If Chalamet had stopped there nearly everyone would have nodded along at his astute point on the movie industry, however he continued to say: “I don't wanna be working in ballet or opera, or things where it's like,’ hey, keep this thing alive’. Even though it's like… no one cares about this anymore.”

Multiple household names have hit out at Chalamet for his comments

Doja Cat was one of the most openly critical of the actor, posting a TikTok video about the controversy. She said: “By the way, opera is 400 years old and ballet is 500 years old.

“Some guy named Timothee Chalamet, great guy by the way, had the audacity to tell the cameras that nobody cares about that [opera and ballet].

“I’m pretty sure that if you went to an opera house right now, it would be packed, and everyone would be silent while the performance is happening, because they have so much respect for it.

“It doesn’t matter if the industry is having a tough time, it doesn’t mean people don’t care about it. The answer is people care.”

Doja Cat posted a TikTok about his comments (TikTok/Doja Cat)

Whoopie Goldberg clearly agreed with Doja, saying on The View: “When you crap on somebody else's art form, it doesn't feel good. It doesn't feel good to see.”

She added a warning, telling him to ‘be careful’ whilst a co-host Sunny Hostin said she didn’t realise Chalamet was ‘vapid and shallow’.

Jamie Lee Curtis was one of multiple celebrities to clap back on social media, reposting an Instagram story from Broadway star Zach McNally saying: “Why are any artists taking shots at any other artist in the time [when] artificial intelligence threatens literally all art forms, except performing art like plays, ballets and operas and musicals.”