Weeks before the 2026 Oscars, Timothée Chalamet courted controversy when it seemed that he inadvertently hit out at the genres of ballet and opera.
He received an instant and stunning backlash from a wide section of the industry.
Now, as Conan O’Brien, who is known for his roasting skills, is set to host the 2026 Academy Awards ceremony, whether he makes a joke in his comments will remain to be seen. But it’s likely the host has written a joke in his script.
Coming back to the controversy, the Dune star was in a conversation with Matthew McConaughey, where he reflected on storytelling in the cinema by giving the example of Frankenstein.
“I’m really right in the middle, Matthew,” he said, adding, “Cause I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, [who] go on a talk show and go, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive.”
The Academy-nominated star also gave examples of Oppenheimer and Barbie to drive home his point.
“You know, we gotta keep this genre alive.’ And another part of me feels like, if people wanna see it, like ‘Barbie,’ like ‘Oppenheimer,’ they’re gonna go see it and go out of their way and be loud and proud about it.”
However, afterward, he delivered remarks about opera and the ballot that he immediately regretted.
“And I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive.’ Even though it’s like, no one cares about this anymore. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
Meanwhile, Chalamet is the frontrunner in the Oscars race for best actor category, where he is pitted against Michael B. Jordan.
