In this week’s episode of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart addressed the viral remarks made by Timothée Chalamet regarding ballet and opera.
“As you are well aware, a terrible war has been raging for two weeks now,” Stewart began on Monday’s show, humorously hinting at the Iran conflict. “But as of last night, it is clear that opera and ballet have triumphed over Timothée Chalamet. No contest! A knockout! Even before they introduced prima ballerina Misty Copeland during the ‘Sinners’ performance.”
“Right in front of him! Boom!” Stewart added. “I can’t wait to replace my Ukrainian flag [Facebook] profile picture with the playbill to ‘Die Fledermaus.’”
During “A CNN & Variety Town Hall Event,” Chalamet expressed his concern about theatrical movie-going potentially fading like ballet and opera, where artists strive to “keep this thing alive” despite the perception that “no one cares” anymore. His comments sparked outrage on social media, particularly among the opera and ballet communities.
Veteran ballet dancer Misty Copeland, involved in this year’s “Marty Supreme” press tour, performed at Sunday’s Academy Awards during an ensemble piece of the original “Sinners” track “I Lied to You.” Copeland was among many performers to counter Chalamet’s claim that “no one cares” about ballet or opera. In a clip shared on social media, she emphasized that there was “a reason that the opera and ballet have been around for over 400 years,” and noted that “[Chalamet] wouldn’t be an actor and have the opportunities he has as a movie star if it weren’t for opera and ballet and their relevance in that medium. So all of these mediums have a space and we shouldn’t be comparing them.”
