Timothée Chalamet Slammed on ‘The View’ for Dissing Ballet and Opera: Whoopi Goldberg Fires Back
Timothée Chalamet is facing backlash after comments he made about ballet and opera. The “Marty Supreme” Oscar nominee told Matthew McConaughey during a CNN & Variety Town Hall that he didn’t want movie theaters to end up like “ballet or opera,” where performers try to “keep this thing alive” even if “no one cares” about it anymore.
On the March 9 episode of “The View,” hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin reacted strongly to Chalamet’s remarks. “Ballet is hard,” Hostin said. “I’m offended and disappointed in what he said. I didn’t realize he was that vapid and that shallow.”
Goldberg added her perspective, noting Chalamet’s background in a dance family. “You come from a dance family, so when you c*** on somebody else’s art form, it doesn’t feel good. You probably didn’t realize until you said, ‘Oh, I’m in trouble,’ but then you compounded it and said, ’14 cents.’ No, when people get mad, it’ll be a lot more than 14 cents, so be careful. I’m just saying. Be careful, boy,” she said.
She continued, “He is a boy to me. No disrespect. Really, don’t apologize when you’ve insulted. It doesn’t sound right. You can’t say, ‘Oh, this is dumb, no disrespect.’ That’s absolute disrespect.”
Chalamet told McConaughey he admired actors who fight to keep theaters alive. “Another part of me feels like, if people wanna see it, like ‘Barbie,’ like ‘Oppenheimer,’ they’re gonna go see it and go out of their way and be loud and proud about it,” he said. “And I don’t want to 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. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
Chalamet’s comments quickly went viral. London’s Royal Ballet and Opera responded on Instagram, showing performers at work and writing: “Every night at the Royal Opera House, thousands of people gather for ballet and opera. For the music. For the storytelling. For the sheer magic of live performance. If you’d like to reconsider, [Timothée Chalamet], our doors are open.”
The English National Opera also extended an invitation, while Seattle Opera offered a 14% discount on tickets for its production of “Carmen” using the promo code “Timothée.”
Musician Doja Cat criticized Chalamet in a now-deleted TikTok post, saying: “Opera is 400 years old. Ballet is 500 years old. Somebody named Tim-oh-tay Cha-lam-et had the nerve to say — on camera — that nobody cares about it. I’m sure you can walk into an opera theater right now, seats will be filled out, and nobody’s saying a word as the performance is going because everybody has that much respect for it.”
It seems Chalamet’s words have ignited a heated debate over respect for traditional arts. His comments, paired with reactions from entertainers and major institutions, show just how passionate people remain about ballet and opera.
While Chalamet might have been trying to make a point about audience engagement, dismissing centuries-old art forms publicly was bound to spark outrage. It’s a reminder that even celebrated actors must tread carefully when critiquing long-standing traditions. What do you think about Chalamet’s comments and the backlash? Share your thoughts in the comments.
