How to lose an Oscar in ten minutes: The Timothée Chalamet controversy

Despite having the arts to thank for getting him where he is today, Timothée Chalamet has found himself in hot water over his criticism of them.

In a Town Hall produced by CNN and Variety, Chalamet said to Interstellar star Matthew McConaughey, “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or you know, things where it’s like ‘hey keep this thing alive’ even though it’s like, no one cares about this anymore.”

This sparked intense backlash, especially online. Almost immediately, a video surfaced on TikTok of Chalamet in 2019, in which he referred to ballet and opera as “a dying art form,” proving that this has been in the back of his mind for years.

The Chalamet family is no stranger to the arts. His mother, Nicole Flender, has been both a dance teacher and Broadway dancer, and his sister, Pauline Chalamet, trained at Studio Maestro and, at age ten, danced in a Broadway production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

With this in mind, his comment came across as a direct insult to his family. Chalamet was also accepted at and attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, which he cites as a turning point in his appreciation for acting.

They offered him a chance, despite his less-than-perfect performance in middle school.

“I gave him the highest score I've ever given a kid auditioning,” said Chalamet’s sophomore-year drama teacher at LaGuardia, Harry Shifman, who insisted on accepting Chalamet after he was initially rejected for prior grades.

LaGuardia boasts both a dance program focused on ballet and one for vocal music — the very things Chalamet said he appreciates not being involved in.

Celebrities have not been silent in their criticisms either, with many people coming forth to speak against Chalamet. Whoopi Goldberg, an actress and comedian, held back no punches as she voiced her disapproval.

“When you crap on somebody else’s art form, it doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel good to see,” said Goldberg in the March 9 edition of The View.

In a now-deleted TikTok, rapper Doja Cat referenced how long-lasting and respected both art forms have been.

“Opera is 400 years old. Ballet is 500 years old,” said Doja Cat. “I’m sure you can walk into an opera theatre right now, seats will be filled out, and nobody is saying a word as the performance is going because everybody has that much respect for it.”

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Some people are against the hate being directed at Chalamet, saying that it was misguided and less significant than it is being made out to be.

“It is honestly laughable how insignificant the comments he made were, and how they have spiralled into waves of hate against him,” says user Altruistic_Mood9293 in a Reddit post discussing the controversy.

Despite these arguments, many people believe he knew what he was implying when he said it.

Almost immediately after making the remark, Chalamet added, “I just lost 14 cents in viewership,” which implies that he sees these people as those with monetary value to him, rather than as artists pursuing their art form in the same way Chalamet has.

The whole comment has left a poor taste in many fans' mouths, causing them to see Chalamet as less of the “artistic smart boy” he had previously been viewed as and more as a shallow, fame-hungry man.

London-based dancer Anna Yliaho shared her feelings on the matter in an Instagram post.

“Only an insecure artist tears down another discipline to elevate their own.”

hannaer@miamioh.edu