Conan O’Brien playfully targeted Timothée Chalamet during a lively, unpredictable opening monologue at this year’s Oscars.
While kicking off the 98th Academy Awards, O’Brien referenced the Wonka star’s recent remarks about ballet and opera, and his suggestion that “no one” is interested anymore.
Joking about the moment, O’Brien told the audience that security had been stepped up in Hollywood for the evening — particularly for the “ballet and opera communities.”
Chalamet’s comments came during a recent appearance at the CNN & Variety Town Hall Event, where he spoke with Matthew McConaughey about the ongoing conversation around keeping movie theatres thriving despite uncertainty about the future of the industry.
As the discussion unfolded, Chalamet made an aside that took aim at the struggle some traditional art forms face in holding public attention.
Chalamet explained:
“I’m really right in the middle, Matthew. Cause I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, [who] go on a talk show and go, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive.
“You know, we gotta keep this genre alive.’ And another part of me feels like, if people wanna see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they’re gonna go see it and go out of their way and be loud and proud about it.
“And I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive.’ Even though it’s like, no one cares about this anymore. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
More to follow.