EXCLUSIVE: Charlize V Timothée! Inside Story of How Actress Theron is the Latest Big Name to Hammer Chalamet Over 'Balletgate'
Charlize Theron has blasted Timothee Chalamet after controversial 'Balletgate' remarks in Hollywood row.
May 13 2026, Published 6:15 a.m. ET
Hollywood's latest most hated, Timothee Chalamet, is in hot water with movie icon Charlize Theron and just about everybody else for tap dancing on the importance of opera and ballet, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The actor, 30, who already draws side-eyes for his shameless PDA displays with pillow-lipped billionaire girlfriend Kylie Jenner, 28, has been barraged with a hornet's nest of venom for belittling the classical arts as no longer relevant during a CNN town hall in February.
Charlize Theron Slams Timothée Chalamet
Charlize Theron criticized Timothee Chalamet after his comments about ballet and opera during a CNN town hall.
"I don't want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it's like, 'Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore,'" he said and then laughingly added, "All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there."
The mouthy remark fired up former dancer Theron, 50, who fumed: "Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day. That was a very reckless comment on an art form, two art forms, that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time.
"But in 10 years, AI is going to be able to do Timothee's job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live. And we shouldn't s--t on other art forms."
Charlize Defends Dancers’ Grueling Discipline
Steven Spielberg defended ballet and opera while discussing the value of shared audience experiences in the arts.
She noted dancers are highly trained and struggle to achieve excellence in their discipline.
"It taught structure. It taught hard work. It taught me to be tough," she said.
Theron later walked back her comment that Chalamet will be replaced by artificial intelligence in a decade, but she's not the only one sticking up for the arts.
Legendary director Steven Spielberg talked about the communal experiences audiences get from movies, ballet and opera, saying: "We want that to go forever."
Warnings From Whoopi
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Whoopi Goldberg criticized Chalamet on 'The View' while pointing to his family's ties to the New York City Ballet.
On TV's 'The View', Whoopi Goldberg also blasted Chalamet, noting he comes from a "dance family" – his grandmother, mother and sister danced with New York City Ballet – and to "be careful" about "crapping" on other art forms, while costar Sunny Hostin called him "vapid and shallow."
Three-time Tony Award winner Nathan Lane, star of Broadway's 'The Producers', called the remark "kaleidoscopic in its stupidity and insensitivity," adding, "What a schmuck!" Noting that Chalamet's recent flick 'Marty Supreme' was about a ping-pong champ, he sneers: "If you think nobody cares about opera and ballet, I can't tell you how much we don't care about ping-pong."
