Timothee Chalamet thanked for boosting ballet and opera ticket sales in the UK

‘Cheers Timmy,’ is not something you’d have expected the Royal Ballet and Opera to say mere months after Timothée Chalamet branded it a dying art.

However, it seems the Dune star is forgiven for his faux pas earlier this year, when he declared ‘nobody cares’ about ballet and opera.

In February, he casually told actor Matthew McConaughey that he didn’t want to be working in an art form and trying to ‘keep this thing alive’.

Timothee’s comments sparked huge backlash, with even fellow celebrities like Doja Cat defending ballet and opera and their 400+ year history as vital to humanity.

It seems the outcry has actually transformed into positive action for the Royal Ballet and Opera, though, as sales have actually increased.

RBO’s chief executive, Sir Alex Beard, told The Times there had been a ‘fantastic’ public reaction after Timothee’s denouncement.

‘I thought it important that we didn’t issue a kind of hoity-toity response to Chalamet,’ he said of their unusual retort.

Rather coolly, the RBO had taken to TikTok and other social media platforms and simply invited Timothee to ‘reconsider’ his feelings, saying ‘our doors are open’.

Alex continued: ‘We simply said “Take a look at what we’re doing, mate” – for instance, the fact that the largest portion of our audience by age is 20 to 30-year-olds.

‘And you know what? Our post got two-and-a-half million engagements and half a million shares, just on Instagram. And our ticket sales got an immediate boost. So cheers, Timmy!’

In his original comment, Timothee had said ‘All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there’ but that got lost in the outrage.

He appeared to recognise the comment could spark criticism in the moment, joking: ‘I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I just took shots for no reason.’

At the time, a spokesperson for the RBO told Metro: ‘Ballet and opera have never existed in isolation – they have continually informed, inspired, and elevated other art forms.

‘Their influence can be felt across theatre, film, contemporary music, fashion, and beyond. For centuries, these disciplines have shaped the way artists create and audiences experience culture, and today millions of people around the world continue to enjoy and engage with them.’

It wasn’t just the Royal Opera House that responded to Timothee, with ballet and opera companies around the world pirouetting into the picture.

The principal of LaGuardia High School, which the Little Women actor went to, said he felt ‘compelled’ to respond, and that they do not ‘rank art forms’.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Opera used the discount code ‘Timothee’ on certain tickets for their performances of Carmen.

If anything, the backlash proved Timothee wrong, showcasing how thriving the ballet and opera community actually is.

Then there was the wider criticism, including from Jamie Lee Curtis who questioned in an Instagram Story: ‘Why are any artists taking shots at any other artists?’

‘He’s gonna be singing a different tune when the live arts are all that’s left after AI takes over. Oh wait. He’s above singing a tune,’ joked actress and singer Laura Benati– to which Jordan Fisher and Sarah Hyland responded with clapping emojis.

Some fans even suggested his comments would be detrimental to his Oscar campaign for Marty Supreme.

The film, directed by Josh Safdie, had scored nine nominations, including Timothee battling it out for Best Actor.

Ultimately, it walked away with zero wins, with Michael B Jordan taking home Best Actor for Sinners.

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