Weeks before the 2026 Oscars, Timothée Chalamet courted controversy when he appeared to inadvertently discover the genres of ballet and opera.
He immediately received a stunning response from much of the industry.
Now that Conan O’Brien, who is known for his coffee roasting skills, will host the Academy Awards in 2026, it remains to be seen if he is joking in his comments. But it is likely that the presenter wrote a joke into his script.
Getting back to the controversy, the Dune star was in conversation with Matthew McConaughey, where he reflected on storytelling in cinema using the example of Frankenstein.
“I’m really in the thick of it, Matthew,” he said, adding, “Because I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, [who] going on a talk show and saying, “Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive.”
The Academy-nominated star also gave examples of Oppenheimer and Barbie to make his point.
“You know, we have to keep this genre alive.” And another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like “Barbie,” like “Oppenheimer,” they’re going to see it and do their very best and be loud and proud about it.
However, he then made comments about opera and the mood that he immediately regretted.
“And I don’t want to work in ballet or opera or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive.’ Even though it seems like no one cares about this anymore. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewers.”
Meanwhile, Chalamet is the frontrunner in the Oscars race for the best actor category, where he will face Michael B. Jordan.
