The ongoing reverberations from Timothée Chalamet’s remarks about ballet and opera don’t appear to be dying down anytime soon, with fresh backlash this time coming from someone who helped market his last film.
Ballet dancer Misty Copeland — who was used in the promotion for “Marty Supreme” — has now taken aim at the Oscar-nominated actor over comments made during “A CNN & Variety Town Hall Event” in which he said he didn’t want theatrical movie going to end up like the “ballet or opera,” where artists want to “keep this thing alive” even though “no one cares” about it anymore.
“First I have to say that it’s very interesting that he invited me to be a part of promoting ‘Marty Supreme’ with respect to my art form,” Copeland said during a panel for Aveeno. Copeland wore a “Marty Supreme”-branded jacket in an Instagram post in late 2025, while another post shared on the film’s official Instagram account showed her as a child ballet dancer and featured the caption “Dream Big.”
“I think that it’s important that we acknowledge that, yes, this is an art form that’s not ‘popular’ and a part of pop culture as movies are, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have enduring relevance in culture.”
In the clip shared on social media, Copeland also said that there was “a reason that the opera and ballet have been around for over 400 years,” adding that “[Chalamet] wouldn’t be an actor and have the opportunities he has as a movie star if it weren’t for opera and ballet and their relevance in that medium. So all of these mediums have a space and we shouldn’t be comparing them.”
The comments from Copeland add to what’s been a growing criticism from the ballet and opera communities since Chalamet’s remarks began circulating.
Last week, London’s Royal Ballet and Opera took to Instagram to share footage of its craftspeople and performers in an apparent response to Chalamet. The caption of the post read, “Every night at the Royal Opera House, thousands of people gather for ballet and opera. For the music. For the storytelling. For the sheer magic of live performance. If you’d like to reconsider, [Timothée Chalamet], our doors are open.”
In a more tongue-in-cheek response, The Seattle Opera began offering discounted tickets for its production of “Carmen” for people using the promo code “Timothée.”
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