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Doja Cat went off on Timothée Chalamet after he dismissed opera and ballet as irrelevant art forms during a recent CNN town hall.
The rapper posted a TikTok video defending centuries of classical performance tradition that Chalamet had written off as dead weight in modern entertainment.
She called out his dismissive attitude toward disciplines that require serious dedication and respect from performers and audiences alike.
“Opera is four hundred years old. Ballet is five hundred years old,” Doja Cat said in her video response. “Somebody named Tim, Timothy Chalamet, had the nerve to say on camera that nobody cares about it.” She emphasized the cultural weight these art forms carry and the commitment dancers and singers bring to their craft every single day.
Chalamet made his controversial comments during a town hall with Matthew McConaughey, where he discussed traditional entertainment formats.
He stated he wouldn’t pursue work in ballet or opera because “no one cares about this anymore.” The actor was trying to explain his preference for contemporary projects over preservation-focused artistic endeavors.
“There is an etiquette around opera, there is etiquette around ballet. It’s amazing,” Doja Cat explained. “Dancers show up at eight a.m., six a.m., whatever. They show up, and they break, and they bleed every single day just because they have respect for it.”
The backlash against Chalamet has been swift and severe from the arts community.
Major institutions, including the Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera, and the Royal Ballet, publicly responded to his comments.
They invited him to experience their performances firsthand, suggesting he might change his perspective if exposed to live classical art.
“Just because the industry is having a tough time doesn’t mean people don’t care about it,” Doja Cat continued. “Dancers care, the singers care, the audience cares. There’s still an audience.”
