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Donna Kelce home renovation Dakota Johnson campaign Amy & T.J.'s friendship tips Chalamet, ballet and opera Shots fired at Rihanna's home 'Hoppers' wins, 'Bride' bombs Harry Styles's 'SNL' cameo 'Duck Dynasty: The Revival' A viral interview clip sparked backlash from performers, his high school's principal — and even Doja Cat. Timothée Chalamet stumbled at thefinish line of awards season. The Marty Supremeactor, who is considered afrontrunner for best actorat this  Sunday’s Academy Awards, is facing backlash after a clip from a recentconversation with Matthew Mc Conaugheysurfaced online. In it, Chalamet appeared to say that “no one cares” about ballet or opera. The remark has been spreading across social media, drawing criticism from arts organizations, performers and even his high school principal. Here’s what happened — and what it could mean for this weekend. Chalamet sat down with his Interstellarcostar at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication on Feb. 21 for a conversation about his career and the movie industry. Part of the conversation focused on the challenges theatrical films have faced in recent years, including the rise of streaming platforms and concerns that social media has shortened audience attention spans. “I admire people — and I've done it myself — who go on a talk show and say, ‘Hey, we've got to keep movie theaters alive, we've gotta keep this genre alive,’” Chalamet said. “And another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they're going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it.” He then added, “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. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there … I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I’m taking shots for no reason.” The comment — specifically the line “no one cares about this anymore” — is what critics have seized on. While the interview took place last month, that snippet began circulating widely late Thursday and gained traction over the weekend. Performing arts institutions responded quickly — many with pointed but measured rebuttals. The Metropolitan Opera posted amontageon March 5 of what goes into one of its work productions, captioning it, “This one’s for you, @tchalamet…” The Boston Ballet saidit was giving Chalamet an “opportunity to change [his] mind.” The English National Opera extended an invitefor free tickets. London’s Royal Ballet and Opera urgedhim to reconsider. The Seattle Opera took a more playful approach, launching a limited-time discount code — “TIMOTHEE” — and adding, “Timmy, you're welcome to use it too 💃.” Individual artists were more direct. Colombian ballet dancer Fernando Montaño shared anopen letter, saying that comparing art forms limits understanding and growth. London-based dancer Anna Yliaho wrotethat “only an insecure artist tears down another discipline to elevate their own.” Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard called it “narrow-minded” and a “cheap shot.” Irish opera singer Seán Tester describedthe remarks as “the kind of reductive take you hear when popularity is mistaken for cultural value.” Megan Fairchild, a New York City Ballet principal,leaned intosarcasm, saying, “Timmy, I didn’t realize you were a world-class dancer or opera singer who simply chose not to pursue it because acting is more popular! Ballet and opera aren’t niche hobbies people opt out of for fame. They’re disciplines you can only enter if you have the rare ability for them in the first place.” The controversy made its way to Saturday Night Live, where Colin Jost noted during “Weekend Update” that Chalamet was “being criticized by major opera and ballet organizations after he said that no one cares about those art forms.” His punchline? That the actor “made the comment on a press tour for his movie about ... ping-pong.” More in Entertainment 3 great Apple TV shows