Director Luca Guadagnino Addresses Timothée Chalamet Ballet Comments
Timothée Chalamet and Luca Guadagnino first worked together on the Best Picture nominee Call Me by Your Name in 2017. The romance film directed by Guadagnino earned the actor his first Academy Award nomination for best lead actor. The pair would reunite for the 2022 release of Bones and All, showing a different type of love story where Chalamet would portray cannibals alongside Taylor Russell.
Promoting his newest movie Marty Supreme, Chalamet sat down with actor Matthew McConaughey at the University of Texas for a talk presented by Variety and CNN. A clip from this sit-down went viral for the wrong reasons when Chalamet opened up about the future of the theater business, comparing it to ballet and opera.
"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," Chalamet said before jokingly correcting himself. "All respect to the ballet and opera people out there."
Timothée Chalamet is facing backlash from the opera and ballet communities after he said:
— zamohappy (@zamohappy) March 9, 2026
"I don't want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it's like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.'" pic.twitter.com/XpITgAorj4
This small comment took the world by storm, with many calling out the actor for disrespecting the art forms. Some even believe that the comment-related controversy cost Chalamet a shot at winning the Oscar, which he was nominated for this year. Even though the quote was about the state of the business and not the quality of the performances themselves, it was interpreted as saying that ballet and opera are lesser than.
JUST IN: Timothee Chalamet odds to win best actor fall to record low 31% after opera and ballet comments pic.twitter.com/vC233TakQ8
— Kalshi Culture (@Kalshi_Culture) March 15, 2026
A sector of the discourse defended the actor, having a more positive outlook on the intentions of his comments. Defenders brought up the fact that Chalamet's grandmother, mother and sister all were performers in the New York City Ballet, bringing a different nuance to the quote.
Monday, Chalamet's two-time collaborator Luca Guadagnino addressed the backlash, coming to the actor's aid.
"I am not on social media and don't understand how one [single] comment can become a planetary polemic. Maybe Timothée could have spared himself, but he's young, smart, sensitive and he fears that cinema could become marginal and that's exactly why every form of imagination should be nurtured." He finished by saying, "We must unite the arts, not separate them."
While the height of the moment has partially blown over, Chalamet may have soured his reputation in some of the public eye. He will go on his next press tour this fall for Dune: Part Three, which releases Dec. 18.
Only time will tell if fans will still have ballet on their minds.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 8:58 AM.