Copeland vs. Chalamet.
Misty Copeland has applauded Timothée Chalamet’s recent claim that “no one cares” about ballet or opera.
According to Variety magazine, Chalamet said during a panel discussion that ballet geniuses “should not compare” their art to other art forms.
“If it wasn’t for opera and ballet and their association in that medium, he wouldn’t have become an actor and he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be a movie star,” Copeland, 43, explained on Sunday. “That means there is space for all of these media.”
She continued, “Certainly, I think it’s important to realize that this is an art form that is not ‘popular’ and is as much a part of pop culture as movies are.” But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have lasting relevance in culture.
“There’s a reason opera and ballet have been around for over 400 years,” Copeland added, telling attendees that he wanted to “bring more people involved” in the art so they “understand the importance and relevance” and “see it reflected everywhere.”
She also noted how “very interesting” it was that Chalamet, 30, “invited[her]to be part of a promotion for ‘Marty Supreme'” last year.
A few weeks before the film’s December 2025 release, Copeland posted a slideshow on Instagram, led by a photo of himself wearing a Marty Supreme jacket.
The second slide, uploaded in November 2025, featured a throwback shot of her dancing as a child, with the words “Dream Big” written above the sweet snap.
Three months later, in a Town Hall conversation with Matthew McConaughey produced by CNN and Variety, Chalamet slammed ballet and opera.
“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,'” he said at an event in February. “Another part of me feels like if people wanted to see it, like ‘Barbie’ or ‘Oppenheimer,’ they would go out of their way to see it and be loud and proud.”
The Oscar nominee went on to say that he was “trying to shoot for no reason” and “I don’t want to do ballet or opera work where I’m like, ‘Hey! No one cares anymore, let’s keep this thing going.'”
He quickly added: “Kudos to the ballet and opera people…the ratings just went down by 14 cents.”
Chalamet’s representatives have not yet responded to Page Six’s request for comment, but in 2019 he criticized the art field, calling it a “dying art form.”
Chalamet’s mother, a former Broadway performer who trained at the School of American Ballet and danced with the New York City Ballet, has lost more than 100,000 followers on Instagram since his comments, which have been criticized by the Royal Ballet, the Opera House and the co-host of “The View.”
He and Copeland are scheduled to perform together at this weekend’s 2026 Academy Awards, where the dancer will perform on stage with Myles Caton and Rafael Saddiq of “Sinners” singing “I Lied to You.”
Chalamet was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Marty Supreme. A sports drama has also been nominated for Best Picture.
