Timothée Chalamet Reacts to Conan O'Brien's Dig at His Opera Comments

“I admire people—and I've done it myself—who go on a talk show and say, ‘Hey, we've got to keep movie theaters alive, we've gotta keep this genre alive,’” Timothée explained. “And another part of me feels like if people want to see it—like Barbie, like Oppenheimer—they’re gonna go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it.”

“I don't want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it's like, ‘Keep this thing alive even though no one cares about this anymore,’” he continued. “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.”

After realizing his comments might’ve been offensive, Timothée  joked, “I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I just took shots for no reason."

Both opera houses and ballet theaters responded to the Wonka actor’s commentary, as well as performers like ballerina Misty Copeland, who appeared in a promotional video for Marty Supreme last November. 

“It’s very interesting that he invited me to be a part of promoting Marty Supreme with respect to my art form,” Misty, who was the first black woman to be principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, said during a March 10 panel for Aveeno in New York City. “I think it’s important that we acknowledge that, yes, this is an art form that’s not ‘popular’ and a part of pop culture as movies are. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have enduring relevance in culture.”

“He wouldn’t be an actor and have the opportunities he has as a movie star if it weren’t for opera and ballet and their relevance,” she added. “All of these mediums have a space and we shouldn’t be comparing them.” 

Some of Timothée’s fellow film actors also spoke up about the issue, including Jamie Lee Curtis.

“His comments are silly, and I’m sorry that they’re going to be a bit of his legacy now,” the Freaky Friday star told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on March 12. “I’m sure he regrets the comment because you can’t throw those art forms under a bus. You can’t do it. They’re too important.”

“Does that mean there’s not a reduction in audiences for those art forms? I’m sure there is,” she continued. “Does that mean it’s going to be the destruction of those art forms? No.” 

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