Timothee Chalamet has once again found himself at the center of an online debate after an older video resurfaced showing him discussing ballet and opera years before his recent controversial remarks about the disciplines. The clip, which began circulating widely on social media, dates back to 2019 when Chalamet was promoting the historical drama The King, directed by David Michôd. In the video, the actor reflects on his early ambitions and how pursuing an acting career shaped his perspective on the arts.
Timothee Chalamet called opera and ballet a ‘dying art form’ in resurfaced 2019 video
While speaking about working in film, Chalamet remarked that certain traditional performance genres felt like they were fading from mainstream attention. “No ‘woe is me’ thing,” he said in the clip. “But you start working on movies, you start acting, pursuing your thing.” He then added that he began to view disciplines like opera and ballet as something akin to “a dying art form.”
The resurfaced footage gained traction shortly after Chalamet sparked controversy with similar comments during a public conversation last month. At a town hall event hosted by Variety and CNN, the actor joined Matthew McConaughey for a discussion about the entertainment industry.
During the Feb. 21 broadcast on CNN, Chalamet spoke about the evolving relationship between audiences and artistic mediums. He explained that while he respects efforts to preserve certain genres, audience interest ultimately determines which forms thrive. “I admire people who go on a talk show and say Hey, we’ve got to keep movie theatres alive,” he said, referencing the kind of advocacy campaigns often seen in the film industry.
“If people want to see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it,” he said. “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,’” he said, before adding that he meant no disrespect toward the people involved in those art forms.
