Oscar-winning Steven Spielberg is the latest celebrity to weigh in on Timothée Chalamet’s much-debated comments about ballet and opera. The filmmaker took a dig at the actor when he spoke about the value of live art forms such as opera and ballet at the 2026 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival.
Steven Spielberg takes a dig at Timothée Chalamet
At a panel discussion at the 2026 SXSW Conference and Festival on Friday, the legendary filmmaker, 79, referenced Timothée’s recent comment that “no one cares about” those art forms when discussing the importance of going to cinemas.
He said that he values streaming and enjoys working with Netflix, adding, “But for me, the real experience comes when we can influence a community to congregate in a strange, dark space where all of us are strangers. At the end of a really good movie experience, we are all united with a whole bunch of feelings that we walk into the daylight with, or into the nighttime with. And there’s nothing like that. It happens in movies, and in concerts. And it happens in ballet and opera, by the way.”
Spielberg grinned as the audience broke out into laughter and cheers. He continued, “And we want that to be sustained. We want that to go forever.”
Apart from Spielberg, many members of the entertainment industry have publicly objected to Timothée’s comments, including ballet stars Misty Copeland and Tiler Peck; opera singers Andrea Bocelli and Isabelle Leonard; and the Metropolitan Opera itself. Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Karla Sofía Gascón, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jamie Lee Curtis, Charlie Puth have also commented on the same.
What did Timothée Chalamet say
Recently, Timothée was in conversation with Interstellar co-star Matthew McConaughey at the University of Texas, where he shared that no one cares about ballet or opera.
During the chat, Timothée said, “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.’ All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I just took shots for no reason.”
After his comments went viral, many people on social media called him out for his disrespectful take on highly respected art forms. One wrote, “How to obliterate your Oscar chances in 5….4..3..2..1…”, with another mentioning, “He’s throwing a fit because he’s lost everything he’s been nominated for this season.” One comment read, “I try to like him, but dude’s making it difficult.” “How can an actor?? An artist say something like that??? If you can’t do it it’s okay but the art doesn’t have to die just because you don’t want or can’t do it like bruh,” said one social media user.
Timothée has not responded to the backlash yet. The actor is a nominee for Best Actor at the Oscars. He is nominated for his portrayal of an ambitious ping-pong player in Marty Supreme. ven though he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor-Drama, he lost the BAFTA Award for Best Actor. Wagner Moura, Michael B Jordan, Ethan Hawke and Leonardo DiCaprio are the other nominees in the category.