The Metropolitan Opera issued a response on TikTok addressing Timothée Chalamet's recent remarks panning ballet and the opera as irrelevant. In a Variety conversation with Matthew McConaughey, the Wonka star managed to anger high art lovers everywhere with his dismissive comments.
Multiple famous ballet dancers and opera singers responded alongside The Met.
Chalamet loses more than 14 cents
During the mutual interview with McConaughey, the discussion turned to serious art vs. pure entertainment value, with Chalamet saying he lands somewhere "in the middle." While he wants to keep the theater alive, he's not as into forms of "high art" as some.
"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. "All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership."
What he lost seems to be the respect of many ballet and opera enjoyers. Angry comments soon appeared on Variety's Instagram post highlighting the clip.
"It’s because of opera that I had the patience to sit through the first part of Dune when absolutely nothing happened, Tim," wrote @katiefrancess.
Famous opera houses respond
As word spread to the high art community, responses from ballerinas and opera singers started rolling in. On Thursday, The Met Opera responded with a TikTok video honoring everyone who works on these forms of art, including all those laboring in the background to make the show happen.
"All respect to the opera (and ballet) people out there," the caption reads.
"This one’s for you, Timothée Chalamet…" the account added.
The Royal Ballet and Opera in the U.K. put out its own statement to the actor on Friday.
"Every night at the Royal Opera House, thousands of people gather for ballet and opera," the organization wrote. "For the music. For the storytelling. For the sheer magic of live performance."
"If you’d like to reconsider, @tchalamet, our doors are open."
"Respect between artists should never be optional"
Around the same time, famous names from the high art community also spoke out. New York opera singer Isabel Leonard made her feelings known among other Instagram commenters.
"Honestly, I’m shocked that someone so seemingly successful can be so ineloquent and narrow-minded in his views about art while considering himself an artist, as I would only imagine one would as an actor," she wrote. "To take cheap shots at fellow artists says more in this interview than anything else he could say."
Smallsdance studio owner and ballet dancer Amar Smalls rejected the idea that no one's interested in these art forms anymore.
"People still care about ballet and opera," he said. "It's just that the tickets for ballet and opera are just mad expensive. And they're mad expensive because it's high art."
"It’s the equivalent of taking your girl on a date to Nobu or McDonald’s."
Canadian opera singer Deepa Johnny argued that we should be uplifting these works rather than dismissing them.
"Artists more than anyone should understand the discipline, sacrifice, and devotion required to bring an art form to life," he wrote. "Respect between artists should never be optional."
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