Hollywood's rising star Timothée Chalamet is facing a fierce backlash over an unexpected controversy about being careful with his words. This time the situation seems to be spiraling out of control as he even received the blistering remark "what a schmuck" from veteran actor Nathan Lane.
On the 12th (local time), according to the Daily Mail, legendary actor Nathan Lane recently appeared on the talk show The View and unleashed heavy criticism at Timothée Chalamet, who had dismissed ballet and opera as "arts nobody cares about."
The 70-year-old veteran actor Nathan Lane opened by saying of Chalamet, "What a schmuck!" He added, "I don't want to give this more attention than it deserves, but his remarks were the epitome of ignorance and insensitivity."
Lane went on to say, "Even in the distant future when people at a dinner ask, 'Who is Timothée Chalamet?' the public will still go to see Swan Lake and La Traviata," strongly chastising the younger actor's disregard for the enduring nature of art. He aimed a cynical joke at the pingpong-themed movie 'Marty Supreme' in which Chalamet appears, saying, "Just as you aren't interested in opera, we're not interested in pingpong," which stirred the studio.
The controversy began at a town hall meeting held on Feb. 24, when Chalamet said he didn't want to beg to "please save this" and work in fields like ballet or opera that "nobody cares about," remarks that drew the ire of the arts community.
In contrast, world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli showed magnanimity. He told People magazine, "An actor as sensitive as Timothée will one day realize that opera and dance come from the same source of human emotion," and offered, "I'm always happy to invite him to one of my performances to show him the true charm of opera."
But the overall reaction from the arts community remains cool. Many artists, including legendary ballerina Misty Copeland, Cheryl Lee Ralph, and Carla Sofia Gascon, have expressed disappointment and voiced criticism of Chalamet's remarks.
Timothée Chalamet, who has reigned as a Gen Z icon and won global affection with his distinctive visuals and acting, is now facing doubt about his values as this "devaluation of art" remark spreads beyond a mere mistake.
Chalamet's camp is currently maintaining silence and has not issued any official statement regarding the controversy.
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