Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet threw some pointed, playful jabs at Timothée Chalamet — and brought in ticket sales in the process — over the weekend, after the Oscar-nominated actor declared “no one cares” about ballet and opera.
Chalamet spurred nationwide backlash from those performing arts communities following his appearance on the Variety & celebrity.land Town Hall with Matthew McConaughey in February. His comments gained visibility ahead of the Oscars on March 15, where he’s up for best actor for his role as Marty Mauser in “Marty Supreme.”
“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 at that Town Hall. “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.”
On Friday, Seattle Opera shared a “TIMOTHEE” promo code, available through last weekend, that gave a 14% discount on select seats for “Carmen” — 14% referring to Chalamet’s quip about losing “14 cents in viewership” after making his comments. “Timmy, you’re welcome to use it too,” the organization said in an Instagram post.
The company sold 203 tickets with that discount code over the weekend, bringing in $28,828 in sales.
The demand for opera is clearly there, said Joshua Gailey, Seattle Opera’s communications and public engagement manager. Its post about Chalamet also garnered 3.2 million impressions across Instagram and Facebook. During the 2024-2025 season, Seattle Opera sold 41,043 single tickets to its shows — its highest number in history, said Kristina Towey, the company’s director of marketing and communications.
Meanwhile, Pacific Northwest Ballet last weekend offered 20% off tickets — also with the promo code “Timothee” — for “Giselle.” The company sold “close to 65 tickets” with that code over the weekend, said Gary Tucker, director of communications.
Tucker’s immediate reaction to Chalamet’s comments? “Just a lot of eye rolling. I can’t believe he’s saying something so stupid.”
The 30-year-old Chalamet grew up surrounded by the arts, raised by ballet dancers and getting his start in theater.
The Chalamet uproar prompted responses from opera and ballet companies across the U.S. and even globally. “Every night at the Royal Opera House, thousands of people gather for ballet and opera,” the Royal Ballet and Opera in London said in an Instagram post. “For the music. For the storytelling. For the sheer magic of live performance.”
Seattle Opera’s Towey said: “Art can be valued, loved and appreciated, every size and scale that there is. And I think I’d also say — and a lot of other people have said this — artists should support artists.”
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