Timothee Chalamet stirred up a controversy recently with his comments about opera and ballet, and the moment did not go unnoticed at the 98th Academy Awards. The actor found himself on the receiving end of a playful joke during the ceremony when host Conan O’Brien referenced the remark in his opening monologue.
Poking fun at the actor, O’Brien said, “Security is extremely tight tonight. I’m told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities.”
omg here’s Timothée Chalamet’s reaction when Oscars host Conan O’Brien joked about his ballet/opera comment
“Security is extremely tight tonight. I’m told there’s concern about attacks from both the opera and ballet community.”
[gasps from audience]
“You’re just mad you left… pic.twitter.com/q7ZCZy9kmG
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) March 15, 2026
The camera then quickly cut to Chalamet, who was seated beside his partner, Kylie Jenner. The actor appeared to take the joke in good spirit, laughing along as the audience reacted. O’Brien followed it up with another punchline, adding, “They are just mad you left out jazz.”
Chalamet is nominated for Best Actor this year for his performance in Marty Supreme.
The joke referred to remarks the actor made during a recent conversation with Matthew McConaughey, where he spoke about the current state of films and entertainment. During the discussion, Chalamet said that while he supports efforts to keep cinema thriving, he would not want to work in art forms like ballet or opera where ‘no one cares about this anymore.’
him wearing white after getting cancelled by half of the industry got me giggling. my goat. https://t.co/bLEI3x7EIP
— timothée chalamet’s impregnator (@indiehamlet) March 15, 2026
He said, “Some people want to be entertained quickly. I’m really right in the middle. Because I admire people saying, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theatres alive. We gotta keep this genre alive.’ I don’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.'”
This comment triggered a wave of reactions online. Meanwhile, Miles Caton, Raphael Saadiq and the cast of Sinners delivered a performance of I Lied to You during the ceremony, which notably featured ballet choreography on stage. The moment drew attention as it came shortly after the joke referencing Timothee Chalamet’s comments about ballet and opera.
