Sorry, Timothée, We Do Care

“I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.’ All respect to the ballet and opera people out there—I just lost $0.14 in viewership.”

This soundbite from Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet reverberated throughout the classical music and dance worlds this week. The statement was made during an hour-long town hall interview with Matthew McConaughey, produced by Variety and CNN and taped in front of a live audience of students at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication. The Marty Supreme star’s statement has provoked backlash from artists and fans alike, who did not appreciate his flippant attitude and dismissiveness toward his fellow creatives.

So, what was the context of this quote, and does he have a point? 

The quote comes from a section of McConaughey and Chalamet’s discussion about how, in the era when attention spans are dwindling thanks to social media, filmmakers have begun shortening their “first acts,” replacing background context and character-building with action up front to immediately draw audiences in. At the same time, the 30-year-old actor mentions a desire among some Gen Z audiences for slower, longer-form content that requires patience but promises a greater reward. 

Chalamet places himself somewhere in the middle of these two approaches, which he believes is the key to keeping the movie business alive. This is where he drags opera and ballet into the discussion totally unprompted. He says he would rather try to save movie theaters than work in a medium that is already dead because people still care about movies but don’t care about opera or ballet.

One reason Chalamet’s statement has received so much blowback is the irony behind it. Here is an artist fearing for his medium and wanting to do what he can to save it, while not affording other artists in the same boat any solidarity. (Plus, opera and ballet are great examples of slow-burn entertainment that might appeal to the subset of Gen Z audiences he refers to.) Not only is his statement ironic, but coming from someone with so much cultural capital, it feels like a punch down. He even recognized that it was an unnecessary dig and followed his comment with, “I just took shots for no reason.” (But then he proceeds to do a bad opera singer impression, so obviously he wasn’t all that cut up about it.)

Of course, the argument that opera and ballet are dead, or at best irrelevant, is not new. It’s a perception that artists have been fighting against for centuries, and one that has arguably driven many arts institutions to do what is safe over taking creative risks that keep the art form vibrant. As Instagram account @teatroallaflopera puts it, “Are we really angry that a movie star thinks opera is irrelevant? Or are we angry that our industry seems to agree?” But now, in the face of ever-decreasing funding, attacks on cultural institutions by the federal government, and encroachments on human creativity from generative AI, Chalamet’s quip (and the impertinent manner in which it was delivered) reads as particularly tasteless. 

On social media, singers, dancers, and arts institutions are clapping back. Some have used their platforms to post hot takes, while others see the viral soundbite as a marketing opportunity. For instance, LA Opera posted, “Sorry Timothée Chalamet. We’d offer you complimentary tickets to Akhnaten, but it’s selling out. There are a few seats left to purchase if you hurry.” 

What's even more disappointing is that he should know better. Pointe Magazine writes on their Instagram, “The actor . . . has a background in dance and participated in the National Dance Institute children’s program. He even sported a New York City Ballet baseball cap last January. Dance runs in Chalamet’s family. His mother, Nicole Flender, studied at the School of American Ballet and majored in dance at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. She attended Yale on a ballet scholarship before switching to musical theater, and later taught dance in New York City public schools and wrote for @danceteachermagazine.” What would his mother say?

From the heated reaction to Chalamet’s comments, it’s clear he struck a nerve. Of course, such is the nature of today’s internet landscape, where one off-handed remark can cause an outsized response as everyone feels compelled to offer an opinion. But the blowback does reveal the defensive stance performing artists have had to adopt as the value of the art form they have dedicated their lives to is constantly questioned and professional opportunities shrink.

Ultimately, Timothée Chalamet is just a movie star with an underbaked argument, who has little bearing on the future of opera and ballet. But if he reads or listens to a few of the responses from singers and dancers, maybe he’ll realize he could use his influence for good. Opera and ballet are not going to be everybody’s jam, and that’s okay. But we’re all in the same boat, trying to keep our little corner of the arts world afloat in increasingly rough waters. At least don’t hit us with the oar.