Charlize Theron Calls Out Timothée Chalamet Over Ballet, Opera Remarks

Charlize Theron is firing back at Timothée Chalamet after his controversial comments about ballet and opera, saying she hopes she “runs into him one day”.

The Monster Oscar winner addressed Chalamet’s remarks during a New York Times interview, where she reflected on her own ballet training. “Dance is probably one of the hardest things I ever did,” Theron said. “Dancers are superheroes. What they put their bodies through in complete silence.”

That prompted the interviewer to bring up Chalamet, who said in a February town hall with Matthew McConaughey that he didn’t want to work in ballet or opera because “no one cares about this anymore,” while clarifying he meant “all respect to the ballet and opera people out there”.

Theron didn’t hold back: “That was a very reckless comment on an art form, two art forms, that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time”. She added, “But in about 10 years, I think AI is going to be able to do Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing, live”.

“We shouldn’t s— on other art forms. How about we start with that?” she said.

Theron explained that dance taught her discipline, structure, hard work, and toughness. “It’s borderline abusive. There were several times that I had blood infections from blisters that just never healed. And you don’t get a day off,” she said. “I’m literally talking about bleeding through your shoes”.

Chalamet made his original comment while arguing that film should remain culturally significant. His remarks drew backlash from figures like Misty Copeland and Steven Spielberg, who later said the magic of strangers experiencing art together “happens in movies, it happens at concerts, and it happens in ballet and opera!”