Steven Spielberg shades Timothée Chalamet in scathing comments about ballet and opera ahead of Oscars 2026

Steven Spielberg knows that the opera and ballet make a deep impact.

After Timothée Chalamet said “no one cares” about those art forms, the filmmaker disagreed, stating, “At the end of a really good movie experience, we are all united with a whole bunch of feelings that we walk into the daylight with, or into the nighttime with.”

“And there’s nothing like that. It happens in movies, and in concerts. And it happens in ballet and opera, by the way,” Spielberg, 79, continued during Friday’s panel at the 2026 SXSW Conference and Festival, per Variety.

He added as the crowd applauded: “We want that to be sustained. We want that to go forever.”

Chalamet, 30, made his controversial comments while speaking with Matthew McConaughey at a town hall event produced by Variety and CNN last month.

During the event, which aired on CNN on Feb. 21, the “Willy Wonka” star said, “I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, who go on a talk show and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to keep movie theaters alive, we’ve gotta keep this genre alive,’ and another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like ‘Barbie,’ like ‘Oppenheimer,’ they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it.”

But for Chalamet, he doesn’t “want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.’”

“All respect to the ballet and opera people out there … I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I’m taking shots for no reason,” continued the Academy Award nominee.

Shortly after his chat with McConaughey, 56, went viral, the Royal Ballet and Opera released a statement, telling the Hollywood Reporter, “Ballet and opera have never existed in isolation — they have continually informed, inspired, and elevated other art forms.”

“Their influence can be felt across theatre, film, contemporary music, fashion, and beyond,” they continued. “For centuries, these disciplines 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.”

Ballet dancers and opera singers also clapped back afterwards, with US opera singer Isabel Leonard writing on Instagram at the time, “Honestly, I’m shocked that someone so seemingly successful can be so ineloquent and narrow-minded in his views about art while considering himself as an artist as I would only imagine one would as an actor.”

She added, “To take cheap shots at fellow artists says more in this interview than anything else he could say. Shows a lot about his character.”

Canadian mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny chimed in, stating in the comments section, “What a disappointing take. There is nothing more impressive than the magic of live theatre, ballet and opera.”

Meanwhile, Chalamet is currently gearing up for Sunday’s Oscars. He is nominated for Best Actor for his role in the sports drama “Marty Supreme.”