Steven Spielberg knows that opera and ballet have a profound impact.
After Timothée Chalamet said that “no one cares” about those art forms, the filmmaker disagreed, saying, “At the end of a really great movie experience, we all come together with a range of emotions and walk into the daylight together and into the night.”
“And nothing like that happens. It happens in movies and in concerts. And it happens in ballet and opera, by the way,” Spielberg, 79, continued during a panel discussion Friday at the 2026 SXSW Conference & Festival.
To applause from the crowd, he added, “We want it to last. We want it to last forever.”
A representative for Chalamet did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Chalamet, 30, made the controversial comment last month while speaking to Matthew McConaughey at a town hall event produced by Variety and CNN.
During the event, which aired on CNN on Feb. 21, the “Willy Wonka” star said, “I respect people who go on talk shows and say, ‘We’ve got to keep movie theaters alive, we’ve got to keep this genre alive.’ I’ve done that myself, but another part of me feels like, like “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer,” if people want to see it, they’ll go see it and go out and be loud and proud of the way they do it. ”
However, Chalamet said, “I don’t want to work in ballet or opera where it’s like, “Hey! Even if no one cares about it anymore, let’s keep this thing alive.”
“With all due respect to the ballet and opera people…the ratings just went down by 14 cents. I’m taking pictures for no reason,” the Academy Award nominee continued.
Shortly after the conversation with McConaughey, 56, went viral, the Royal Ballet and Opera issued a statement, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “Ballet and opera have never existed in isolation, but continually inform, inspire and elevate other art forms.”
“Their influence extends to all areas including theatre, film, contemporary music and fashion,” they continued. “For centuries, these fields have shaped the way artists create and audiences experience culture, and today millions of people around the world continue to enjoy and engage with them.”
Later, ballet dancers and opera singers also applauded, with American opera singer Isabel Leonard posting on Instagram at the time: “I’m honestly shocked that someone who seems so successful can think of art in such a silent and narrow-minded way that he thinks of himself as an artist, but can only think of himself as an actor.”
He added, “His cheap criticism of a fellow artist says more than anything else he could say in this interview. It shows a lot about his character.”
Canadian mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny echoed this sentiment, writing in the comments section: “What a shame. There’s nothing more impressive than the magic of live theatre, ballet and opera.”
Meanwhile, Chalamet is currently preparing for Sunday’s Oscar ceremony. He was nominated for the Best Actor Award for his role in the sports drama “Marty Supreme.”
