Charlize Theron is weighing in on Timothée Chalamet‘s earlier comments about ballet and opera, calling them “very reckless” and defending the art forms.
In an interview with The New York Times published Saturday, Theron spoke about the physical and mental demands of dance while discussing her own experience.
“Dance is probably one of the hardest things I ever did. Dancers are superheroes. What they put their bodies through in complete silence,” the Mad Max: Fury Road star said, prompting the reporter to joke, “Sorry, Timothée Chalamet.”
“Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day,” Theron replied. “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 Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live. And we shouldn’t [expletive] on other art forms.”
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Chalamet’s reps for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
“Dance taught me discipline. It taught structure. It taught hard work. It taught me to be tough. It’s borderline abusive,” she continued. “There were several times that I had blood infections from blisters that just never healed. And you don’t get a day off. I’m literally talking about bleeding through your shoes. And that’s something that you have to practice every single day, the mindset of just, you don’t give up, there’s no other option, you keep going.”
Chalamet first sparked backlash in February during a Variety and CNN town hall with Matthew McConaughey. During the chat, the Marty Supreme star was asked whether audiences are still interested in slower-paced movies.
He responded saying he wouldn’t want to be involved in an art form that “no one cares about,” noting ballet and opera as examples. “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore,’” Chalamet said with a laugh. “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there … I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I’m taking shots for no reason.”
His remarks drew criticism from members of the opera and ballet communities, as well as other celebrities.
The moment even became a punchline at last month’s Oscars, where host Conan O’Brien joked, “I’m told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet community,” before adding to Chalamet, “They’re just mad you left out jazz.”
