Oscar hopeful Timothée Chalamet continues to face backlash for saying “no one cares” about the opera or ballet, this time from the hosts of “The View.” On Monday morning, the ABC hosts warned the actor to be “careful” and not so “vapid.”
In a now-viral clip from last month’s Variety and CNN town hall, Chalamet bluntly declared that he sometimes struggles with fighting for movies in theaters, because he doesn’t want to be working in a medium like ballet or opera “where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive even though it’s like, no one cares about this thing anymore.’” The comment has sparked criticism online, from fans, celebrities and even actual ballet and opera companies.
“As a member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a classically ballet, Black troupe, I’m offended, and disappointed in what he said,” host Sunny Hostin said on Monday. “I didn’t realize that he was that vapid, and that shallow.”
Meanwhile, host Sara Haines immediately pointed out that Chalamet’s grandmother, mother and sister (“The Sex Lives of College Girls” star Pauline Chalamet) were all ballet dancers. So, Haines joked that the actor’s comment seems more “like a family issue.” But it was precisely that element that upset moderator Whoopi Goldberg the most.
“You come from a dance family. And so, when you crap on somebody else’s art form, it doesn’t feel good,” she said. “It doesn’t feel good to see, and you probably didn’t realize that until you said, ‘Oh, I’m in trouble.’ But then you compounded it, and said ’14 cents.’ No, when people get mad, it’ll be a lot more than 14 cents. So be careful. I’m just saying, be careful, boy.”
That final piece drew an audible response from the audience and guest host Sheryl Underwood, prompting Whoopi to explain that, to her, Chalamet is still a boy. She then added “no disrespect,” similarly to how Chalamet did in his comments, and called out the oddity of that as well.
“Really, don’t apologize when you’ve insulted, because it doesn’t sound right. You can’t say ‘Oh, this is dumb and no disrespect for’ — that’s absolute disrespect!” Whoopi noted.
“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.
