Bradley Whitford has joined the discourse about ballet and opera following Timothée Chalamet’s comments about the art forms. After several other artists called out Chalamet for his comments, Whitford also made a clever reference to the young actor’s comment while speaking about the art forms himself.
Veteran Hollywood star Bradley Whitford, whose notable works include The West Wing and The Diplomat, was the latest to join the discourse about ballet and opera. This came after Dune star Timothée Chalamet commented on art forms that many disliked.
Whitford spoke about ballet and opera with PEOPLE at the premiere of his new film, Reminders of Him. “I knew a lot of opera singers where I studied acting, and I always found it amazing,” Whitford, who studied at Juilliard, said, “I would be incredibly moved by it, [even] when I had no idea what they were saying.” Taking a sharp dig at Chalamet, Whitford added, “I am not that into ping pong, though.”
This was a direct reference to Chalamet’s Oscar-nominated role in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme.
On February 24, 2026, Chalamet ignited a debate when he spoke with Matthew McConaughey about the industry’s current challenges. “I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, who go on a talk show and go, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive. You know, we gotta keep this genre alive,’” Chalamet had 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. And I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or you know, things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive,’ even though it’s like, no one cares about this anymore.”
Following this comment, the actor quickly added, “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
But since then, many, including The View, Jeopardy, Doja Cat, the London Ballet, and the Metropolitan Opera, called out Chalamet.
Comments are closed.