Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet threw some pointed, playful jabs at Timoth\u00e9<\/a>e Chalamet \u2014 and brought in ticket sales in the process \u2014 over the weekend, after the Oscar-nominated actor declared \u201cno one cares\u201d about ballet and opera.<\/p>\n Chalamet spurred nationwide backlash from those performing arts communities following his appearance on the Variety & celebrity.land Town Hall<\/a> with Matthew McConaughey in February. His comments gained visibility ahead of the Oscars on March 15, where he\u2019s up for best actor for his role as Marty Mauser in \u201cMarty Supreme.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, keep this thing alive,\u2019 even though it\u2019s like, no one cares about this anymore,\u201d Chalamet said at that Town Hall. \u201cAll respect to the ballet and opera people out there.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, Seattle Opera shared a \u201cTIMOTHEE\u201d promo code<\/a>, available through last weekend, that gave a 14% discount on select seats for \u201cCarmen\u201d \u2014 14% referring to Chalamet\u2019s quip about losing \u201c14 cents in viewership\u201d after making his comments. \u201cTimmy, you\u2019re welcome to use it too,\u201d the organization said in an Instagram post.<\/p>\n The company sold 203 tickets with that discount code over the weekend, bringing in $28,828 in sales.<\/p>\n The demand for opera is clearly there, said Joshua Gailey, Seattle Opera\u2019s 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 \u2014 its highest number in history, said Kristina Towey, the company\u2019s director of marketing and communications.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Pacific Northwest Ballet last weekend offered 20% off tickets \u2014 also with the promo code \u201cTimothee\u201d<\/a> \u2014 for \u201cGiselle.\u201d The company sold \u201cclose to 65 tickets\u201d with that code over the weekend, said Gary Tucker, director of communications.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tucker\u2019s immediate reaction to Chalamet\u2019s comments? \u201cJust a lot of eye rolling. I can\u2019t believe he\u2019s saying something so stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n The 30-year-old Chalamet grew up surrounded by the arts, raised by ballet dancers<\/a> and getting his start in theater.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Chalamet uproar prompted responses from opera and ballet companies across the U.S. and even globally. \u201cEvery night at the Royal Opera House, thousands of people gather for ballet and opera,\u201d the Royal Ballet and Opera in London said in an Instagram post<\/a>. \u201cFor the music. For the storytelling. For the sheer magic of live performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Seattle Opera\u2019s Towey said: \u201cArt can be valued, loved and appreciated, every size and scale that there is. And I think I’d also say \u2014 and a lot of other people have said this \u2014 artists should support artists.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n