Celebrities, including director Steven Spielberg, singer Doja Cat and opera star Andrea Bocelli, have publicly responded to actor Timothée Chalamet’s comments suggesting that “no one cares” about ballet or opera anymore, which drew widespread attention in the performing arts world after a Variety and celebrity.land town hall event in February.
According to Variety, Chalamet made the remarks during a conversation with Matthew McConaughey at the Feb. 21 event at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication. The full video was posted online by Variety three days later. While discussing efforts to sustain movie theater attendance, Chalamet said he admired people who advocate for certain genres but added that he did not want to work in forms he viewed as needing constant pleas for survival.
“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,” Chalamet said, according to a transcript of the event. “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
The comments, which circulated widely in early March, prompted invitations from ballet and opera companies and criticism from within the arts community. Several high-profile figures in entertainment weighed in on social media, talk shows and public appearances.
1. Steven Spielberg
Spielberg addressed the topic March 13 during a keynote conversation at South by Southwest about the future of moviegoing. He compared the communal experience of films to live performances in other fields.
“It happens in movies, and in concerts. And it happens in ballet and opera, by the way,” Spielberg said. “And we want that to be sustained. We want that to go forever.” The audience laughed and cheered.
2. Doja Cat
Doja Cat initially criticized Chalamet in a since-deleted TikTok video. She said opera is 400 years old and ballet 500 years old, and told the actor to “sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up” at such performances. On March 12 she walked back the criticism in another TikTok post.
“I’ve never been to a ballet. I’ve never seen an opera,” Doja Cat said, according to Variety. She described her initial reaction as “virtue signaling” driven by a desire to connect online and later said she did not know enough about the art forms to comment.
3. Andrea Bocelli
Opera singer Andrea Bocelli responded in a statement reported by The Hollywood Reporter. He suggested Chalamet’s view might stem from limited exposure.
“I believe we often tend to keep our distance from what we have not yet truly encountered,” Bocelli said. He described opera and ballet as “living languages that can still move us, make us reflect, and bring different generations together” and invited the actor to attend one of his concerts.
4. Nathan Lane
Actor Nathan Lane, appearing on ABC’s “The View,” called the remarks “kaleidoscopic in its stupidity and insensitivity.”
“If you think nobody cares about opera and ballet, I can’t tell you how much we don’t care about ping-pong!” Lane said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He predicted that audiences would continue attending classics such as “Swan Lake” and “La Traviata” long after the controversy faded.
5 & 6 Whoopi Goldberg and Sundy Hostin
On the same episode of “The View,” broadcast March 9, co-host Whoopi Goldberg warned Chalamet to “be careful.”
“You come from a dance family, so when you crap on somebody else’s art form, it doesn’t feel good,” Goldberg said. She added that his disclaimer of “all respect” did not mitigate the insult. Co-host Sunny Hostin said she was “offended and disappointed” and called the remarks “vapid and shallow.”
Chalamet, 30, is an Oscar nominee for his lead role in “Marty Supreme,” directed by Josh Safdie. The comments surfaced as he promoted the film during awards season. Some in the ballet and opera worlds used the moment to highlight attendance at their performances, posting invitations on social media offering free or discounted tickets.
The episode underscored ongoing debates about the cultural relevance and audience size of traditional performing arts compared with blockbuster cinema. No official response came from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Chalamet has not issued a public follow-up statement beyond the original exchange.
The full town hall video remains available on Variety’s YouTube channel. Reactions continued to appear on social media platforms in the days after the clips gained traction.
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