Timothée Chalamet faces backlash from entertainers after dismissing ballet and opera as art forms no one cares about anymore.

Chalamet’s Controversial Remarks

During a CNN and Variety Town Hall at the University of Texas at Austin last month, the 30-year-old actor expressed conflict over promoting theater visits for films. He compared the effort to ballet and opera, stating, “It’s like, ‘Keep this thing alive even though no one cares about this thing anymore.'”

Reactions on The View

Panelist Sarah Haines highlighted that Chalamet’s grandmother, mother, and sister were once members of the New York City Ballet. Co-host Sunny Hostin, who trained with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, expressed offense, saying, “I didn’t realize that he was that vapid and that shallow.”

Whoopi Goldberg referenced his family ties to dance, noting, “You come from a dance family – and so, when you crap on somebody else’s art form, it doesn’t feel good.” She added, “It doesn’t feel good to see, and you probably didn’t realize that until you said, ‘Oh, I’m in trouble.'”

Goldberg criticized Chalamet’s follow-up joke about losing just 14 cents from the backlash, warning, “When people get mad, it’ll be a lot more than 14 cents – so be careful. I’m just saying, be careful, boy.” She called him “a boy to me,” echoing his own “no disrespect” phrase from the event.

Goldberg advised against insincere apologies: “Really, don’t apologize when you’ve insulted. It doesn’t sound right. You can’t say, ‘Oh, this is dumb, no disrespect.’ That’s absolute disrespect.”

Guest Perspective

Guest panelist Sheryl Underwood offered a milder view, suggesting Chalamet might respect ballet more if portraying Rudolf Nureyev. She attributed the comments to youth, urging, “That goes to show a lot of young people need to understand, don’t just flip off and say something. Really understand that your words have meaning to other young people. I think he can do it.”

Oscar Nomination Odds

Chalamet enters as a slight underdog (+125) for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, trailing Michael B. Jordan (-125) from Sinners. Other nominees include Leonardo DiCaprio (+900) from One Battle After Another, Wagner Moura (+1600) from The Secret Agent, and Ethan Hawke (+2000) from Blue Moon.

This marks Chalamet’s third nod in the category, following Call Me By Your Name in 2017 and his Bob Dylan role in 2024’s A Complete Unknown.