Timothée Chalamet might be in the complete unknown.
Ballet dancers and opera singers are clapping back after the actor said “no one cares” about those facets of art.
US opera singer Isabel Leonard wrote on Instagram, “Honestly, I’m shocked that someone so seemingly successful can be so ineloquent and narrow-minded in his views about art while considering himself as an artist as I would only imagine one would as an actor.”
She added, “To take cheap shots at fellow artists says more in this interview than anything else he could say. Shows a lot about his character.”
While Leonard noted that people don’t have to “like all art,” “only a weak person/artist feels the need to diminish in fact, the very arts that would inspire those who are interested in slowing down, to do exactly that.”
Canadian mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny chimed in, stating in the comments section, “What a disappointing take. There is nothing more impressive than the magic of live theatre, ballet and opera.”
Irish opera singer Seán Tester took to his own his Instagram to call Chalamet’s comments “the kind of reductive take you hear when popularity is mistaken for cultural value.”
“They are not outdated art forms. They are living ones, constantly reinterpreted, constantly evolving … It’s always fascinating when artists with global platforms dismiss opera and ballet as irrelevant. Opera and ballet have survived wars … To call these art forms irrelevant says far less about the art itself than it does about how little time someone has spent truly experiencing it.”
Chalamet’s controversial comment was made while he was speaking with Matthew McConaughey at a town hall event produced by Variety and CNN last month. During the event, which aired on CNN on Feb. 21, Chalamet, 30, explained, “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,’ and another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like ‘Barbie,’ like ‘Oppenheimer,’ they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it.”
But for the Academy Award nominee, he doesn’t “want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.’”
“All respect to the ballet and opera people out there … I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I’m taking shots for no reason,” continued Chalamet.
Shortly after, the Royal Ballet and Opera released a statement, telling the Hollywood Reporter, “Ballet and opera have never existed in isolation — they have continually informed, inspired, and elevated other art forms.”
“Their influence can be felt across theatre, film, contemporary music, fashion, and beyond,” they continued. “For centuries, these disciplines have shaped the way artists create and audiences experience culture, and today millions of people around the world continue to enjoy and engage with them.”
Chalamet is currently gearing up for the 98th Academy Awards on March 15. The star is nominated for Best Actor for his role in “Marty Supreme.”
The sports drama movie is also up for the coveted Best Picture award.
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