Timothée Chalamet sparked debate online after sharing his thoughts on whether ballet and opera still connect with today’s audiences.
Doja Cat has responded to Timothée Chalamet following remarks he made about ballet and opera that drew criticism from some viewers.
Chalamet spoke during the CNN & Variety Town Hall Event, where he joined Matthew McConaughey to discuss the state of movie theatres and how audiences watch films today.
The topic comes at a tense time for cinemas, with more releases heading straight to streaming platforms and the future of theatrical releases continuing to be questioned.
During the conversation, Chalamet suggested that many people want entertainment quickly, though he acknowledged that certain films can still motivate audiences to show up in large numbers.
He said: “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.”
Chalamet appeared to anticipate that his point might not land well with everyone, adding: “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
Doja Cat took issue with the framing of his comments and argued that both art forms remain important and widely respected.
In a TikTok clip, she said: “By the way, opera is 400 years old and ballet is 500 years old. Somebody named Timothée Chalamet, had the nerve, big guy by the way, had the nerve, on camera that nobody cares about it [opera and ballet].
“I’m pretty sure that if you went to an opera theatre right now, seats will be filled out and nobody saying a word as the performance is going on because everybody has that much respect for it.
Doja Cat comments on what Timothée Chalamet had said about ballet and opera recently. pic.twitter.com/Z2Gu1bXefd
— Doja HQ (@DojaHQs) March 8, 2026
“She added: ‘They [dancers] show up, they break and they bleed, every single day, just because they have respect for it. They love it’.”
Doja Cat wasn’t the only person to push back against Chalamet’s remarks.
The English National Opera also weighed in, extending an invitation to the actor via Instagram and suggesting a visit could offer a different perspective on the continued appeal of live performance.
London’s Royal Ballet and Opera addressed the moment as well, sharing a video montage of productions with the message ‘We care’.
They captioned the post with: “Every night at the Royal Opera House, thousands of people gather for ballet and opera. For the music. For the storytelling. For the sheer magic of live performance.
“If you’d like to reconsider, @tchalamet, our doors are open.”