Timothee Chalamet's 2019 comments on 'Opera and Ballet' resurface amid controversy; netizens say 'this isn't his first time saying this'

Timothee Chalamet has been on the receiving end, since his comments about opera and ballet being a 'dying art' went viral online. The actor has been slammed not only by actors and performing artists alike, but also by fans and netizens, taking to social media to slam him for his comments. However, amid the ongoing backlash, netizens have found his older interviews where the actor makes the same remarks.

Timothee Chalamet creates controversy over Ballet and Opera comment

The controversy began after the Oscar-nominee, in a recent conversation with Matthew McConaughey, on February 24, said, "I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive,’ even though, like, no one cares about this anymore."




Timothee Chalamet's old interviews go viral

Amid the backlash, netizens have now dug up an older interview of Chalamet from his 2019 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, where he appeared to make similar comment. While appearing to discuss his career choices and love for cinema, he said, "I love movies. I love acting. I love going to movies. I was kind of getting scared when I was younger that maybe opera or something, was becoming an outdated art form."



During an appearance, while promoting his historical drama 'The King', Chalamet took to the stage and repeated his comment and reffered to the ballet and opera as a 'dying art'. He said, "I was, like, you started working on movies, you started acting, and pursuing your thing, and, I started getting a sense, maybe, it was, like, opera, ballet, or something. Kind of like a dying art form or something."

Timothee Chalamet on his connection to Ballet

In the early leg of promotions for his film 'Marty Supreme', Chalamet revealed his personal connection to ballet. He shared, "I grew up backstage at the New York City Ballet. My grandmother danced in New York City Ballet. My mother danced in New York City Ballet. My sister danced in New York City Ballet,” he said during the interview. He went on to add, "I grew up dreaming big backstage at the Coke Theatre in New York. And does that help, in situations like this? Hugely, I'm a Venn diagram of the best cultural influences of the 21st century and 20th century."

About the controversy

The resurfaced interview clips have only added to the uproar over the actor's recent comments. Many took shots at the star for encouraging audiences to go to theatres to watch films to save cinema, while on the other hand, taking swings at other performing artforms.

Timothee Chalamet eyes first Oscar win

Timothee has been one of the frontrunners to win the Best Actor award at the upcoming Oscars ceremony. Until last week, he was tipped to win the Oscar, however, following his losses at the BAFTA and Actor Awards, Michael B Jordan has seen a rise in popularity for his performance in 'Sinners'.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”