2 minute readrundown
Oscar host Conan O’Brien joked in his opening monologue, alluding to Timothée Chalamet’s controversial comments about ballet and opera. Cameras captured Chalamet and Kylie Jenner’s reactions in the audience. Chalamet then ended up watching a ballet during a performance of “The Sinners’ Best Original Song.”
It didn’t take long for Oscars host Conan O’Brien to address Timothée Chalamet’s recent ballet and opera comments that dominated the headlines. O’Brien briefly teased the situation in his opening monologue, telling the audience, including Chalamet, “Security is very tight tonight. Let me just say this: I’ve heard that there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities. They’re just angry that they ignored jazz.” The camera panned to Chalamet and girlfriend Kylie Jenner. Chalamet accepted the joke with a nod and a laugh.
Chalamet gained attention last month for comments he made on variety shows and at a CNN town hall with Matthew McConaughey. When Starr mentioned ballet and opera, she was also talking about the challenges facing movie theaters. “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,’ and I’ve done that myself. And I feel in another part of me that, like Barbie and Oppenheimer, if people wanted to see it, they would go out of their way to see it and be loud and proud about it,” he began.
He added: “I don’t want to work in ballet or opera. I don’t want to work in ballet or opera. I don’t want to do something where I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s keep this alive,’ even though no one cares about it anymore.”
He seemed aware even then that his comments were controversial, adding: “With all due respect to the people involved in ballet and opera, the ratings just went down by 14 cents. I just took a picture for no reason. I just took a picture for no reason.”
Since then, various artists have spoken out against his comments, and a ballet was even featured in the Sinners’ performance of Best Original Song nominee “I Lied to You” at the Oscars. At the end of her set, Misty Copeland took the stage.
