Lumabo ang tsansa ng Hollywood actor na si Timothée Chalamet, 30, na mapanalunan ang kanyang kauna-unahang Oscar best actor trophy ngayong taon dahil sa kontrobersiyal niyang komento tungkol sa ballet at opera.
Nominado si Chalamet sa 98th Academy Awards bilang best actor para sa kanyang pagganap bilang tennis table prodigy sa pelikulang Marty Supreme.
Kalaban niya sa kategoryang ito sina Leonardo DiCaprio para sa One Battle After Another, Ethan Hawke para sa Blue Moon, Michael B. Jordan para sa Sinners, at Wagner Moura para sa The Secret Agent.
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TIMOTHEE CHALAMET'S CONTROVERSIAL REMARKS ABOUT BALLET AND OPERA
Sa isang town hall conversation noong February 2026 kasama si Matthew McConaughey para sa Variety at CNN, nagsalita si Chalamet tungkol sa mga hamong kinakaharap ng movie theaters at iba pang traditional forms ng entertainment.
Sa gitna ng talakayan, sinabi ng aktor na hindi niya nakikita ang sarili na magtatrabaho sa larangan ng ballet o opera.
Sa sarili niyang salita: "I don't want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it's like, 'Hey, keep this thing alive, even though, like, no one cares about this anymore.' All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there."
Natawa ang audience sa pahayag na ito ni Chalamet, pero mabilis itong kumalat online at nagsimula ang mainit na diskusyon sa artists at fans na na-offend sa ideya na tila nawawalan na ng relevance ang mga art form na ballet at opera, na may daan-daang taong kasaysayan.
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CELEBRITIES REACT TO TIMOTHEE'S STATEMENT
Agad na nag-react ang maraming personalidad mula sa performing arts community, kung saan ilang dancers, singers, at celebrities ang nagbigay ng pahayag at ipinagtanggol ang ballet at opera.
MISTY COPELAND
Isa sa mga nag-react ay si Misty Copeland ng American Ballet Theatre.
Ayon kay Copeland, may dahilan kung bakit tumagal nang ilang siglo ang ballet at opera. Binigyang-diin niyang nananatili pa ring mahalagang bahagi ng kultura ang mga ito at patuloy na may mga audience na tunay na passionate sa ganitong uri ng sining.
Pahayag niya: "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.
"But I think that it’s important that we acknowledge that, yes, this is an art form that is not ‘popular’ and a part of pop culture as movies are. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have enduring relevance in culture.
“I think it’s often mistaken when something is popular that it’s meaningful or more impactful. There’s a reason that the opera and ballet have been around for over 400 years.”
Dagdag pa ni Copeland: “I think when you have access and you have opportunity to be a part of something that can change your life, and that’s the work that I’ve done been doing with the Misty Copeland Foundation.
"That’s the work I’ve done my whole career, is to bring more people into it so that people do understand the importance and the relevance of it in our communities and our culture, and you see it reflected everywhere."
Sabi pa niya tungkol kay Chalamet: "I mean, he 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. All of these mediums have a space and we shouldn’t be comparing them.”
ANDREA BOCELLI
Nasorpresa naman ang Italian opera singer na si Andrea Bocelli nang marining ang ganoong klaseng komento mula sa "fellow artist" na si Chalamet.
Pahayag ni Bocelli sa PEOPLE: “I believe we often tend to keep our distance from what we have not yet truly encountered.
"Opera and ballet are art forms that have crossed centuries and continue to speak to the human heart, because they answer a deep need for beauty, truth, and emotion.
“They are not arts of the past, but living languages that can still move us, make us reflect, and bring different generations together.”
Umaasa si Bocelli na balang araw ay magbago ang pananaw ni Chalamet sa opera, at inimbitahan din niya ang aktor na manood ng isa sa kanyang concerts.
Saad ng world-renowned opera singer: “I am convinced that a sensitive performer like Timothée, who understands the power of emotions, may one day discover that opera and dance draw from that very same source.
“Should he ever be curious, I would be happy to welcome him as a guest at one of my concerts. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes of hearing this music live to understand why, after centuries, it continues to be loved all over the world."
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JAMIE LEE CURTIS
Sa isang panayam naman ng Oscar-winning actress na si Jamie Lee Curtis, binatikos niya ang naging pahayag ni Chalamet tungkol sa kapwa nito artists, na kalaunan daw ay pagsisisihan ng aktor.
Pahayag ng aktres: “His comments are silly, and I’m sorry that they’re going to be a bit of his legacy now.
“I’m sure he regrets the comment because you can’t throw those art forms under a bus. You can’t do it. They’re too important.
“Does that mean there’s not a reduction in audiences for those art forms? I’m sure there is. Does that mean it’s going to be the destruction of those art forms? No.
“People still shoot on film, by the way.”
DOJA CAT
Nagbigay rin ng opinyon ang singer na si Doja Cat sa social media.
Sa una ay nag-post siya sa TikTok ng matapang na reaksyon bilang pagtatanggol sa tradisyon ng opera at ballet, pero binura rin niya ito kalaunan.
Sabi niya kay Chalamet: “Your industry has a tough time. My industry has a tough time. Doesn’t mean people don’t care about it. People care. … There’s still an audience. People give a f***.”
Sa isang video na kalauna’y kumalat online, sinabi ni Doja Cat na malinaw na marami pa ring tao ang nagmamalasakit sa mga performance na ito, at binigyang-pansin niya ang disiplina at artistry na kinakailangan para maisagawa ang mga ito.
Pero inamin din ng singer na hindi pa siya nakakapanood ng ballet at opera.
Dire-diretsong sabi ni Doja Cat: "I am gonna come out and just say that I know nothing about opera. I know nothing about ballet. I’ve never been to a ballet. I’ve never seen an opera.
“What I was doing yesterday was virtue signaling, because I wanted to connect, and I knew that Timothée’s goof-up was something that I could leverage in order for people to connect with me and f*** with me.
“And it’s easy. It’s a modern way to garner clicks, likes, approval and all kinds of things like that from people. And so I did that yesterday, and I didn’t really think about why I was doing it… Am I proud of it? No.
“It just kind of furthers the fact that sometimes I think sh*t and then I’m like, ‘Never mind.’ So never mind.”
BRADLEY WHITFORD
Samantala, kinuwestiyon ng The West Wing actor na si Bradley Whitford ang naging pahayag ni Chalamet.
Sabi ng Juilliard alumnus: "I knew a lot of opera singers where I studied acting, and I always found it amazing. I would be incredibly moved by it, [even] when I had no idea what they were saying."
Pasaring niya kay Chalamet at sa pinagbibidahan nitong Oscar-nominated movie na Marty Supreme: "I am not that into ping pong, though."
JULIETTE BINOCHE
Mas philosophical naman ang naging reaksiyon ng French actress na si Juliette Binoche.
Pabirong sinabi ni Binoche na may panahon ding inakala ng mga tao na ang cinema mismo ay isang “dying art,” na nagpapahiwatig na ang mga art form ay dumadaan lamang sa cycles ng kasikatan at pagbabago.
Sumali rin sa diskusyon ang ilang opera companies at institutions, na nag-post ng videos ng kanilang performances na puno ng audience, pati na ng backstage craftsmanship, upang ipakita na buhay na buhay pa rin ang art form.
Maging si Chalamet mismo ay tila kinilala ang posibleng epekto ng kanyang sinabi.
Sa town hall conversation, pabiro niyang sinabi na baka raw nabawasan ang viewership niya dahil sa pahayag na iyon.
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CHALAMET COMES FROM A DANCE FAMILY
Lalong pinag-uusapan ang kontrobersiya dahil sa isang ironic na detalye tungkol sa background ng pamilya ni Chalamet.
Lumaki ang aktor sa pamilyang may malalim na koneksiyon sa ballet. Ang kanyang lola, ina, at kapatid na babae ay pawang naging dancers sa New York City Ballet.
Dahil dito, maraming kritiko ang nagsabing nakakagulat ang naging komento ng aktor.
Sa ngayon, wala pa ring inilalabas na formal apology o clarification ang aktor habang patuloy niyang pino-promote ang kanyang pelikulang Marty Supreme sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo.
HOW WILL THE CONTROVERSY AFFECT CHALAMET'S OSCAR CHANCES?
Mas naging sensitibo ang timing ng kontrobersiya dahil kasalukuyang nasa gitna ng isang high-profile awards campaign si Timothée Chalamet.
Nominado si Chalamet sa 98th Academy Awards o Oscars bilang Best Actor para sa kanyang performance sa Marty Supreme, na nominado rin bilang Best Picture.
Ito ang ikatlong Oscar nomination ni Chalamet.
Una siyang na-nominate bilang Best Supporting Actor para sa kanyang pagganap sa Call Me By Your Name noong 2018.
Noong nakaraang taon, 2025, naman ay na-nominate siya bilang Best Actor sa kanyang performance bilang Bob Dylan sa A Complete Unknown.
Sa panahon ng awards season, malaking factor ang public perception. Ang mga kontrobersiya, lalo na kung may naiinis na bahagi ng arts community, ay maaaring makaapekto sa narrative na bumabalot sa isang nominee.
May ilang industry observers na naniniwalang maaaring makasama kay Chalamet ang backlash dahil posibleng mabawasan ang goodwill ng ilang Oscar voters, lalo na ang mga may background sa theater, dance, at music.
Gayunpaman, may mga analyst ding nagsasabing maaaring limitado lamang ang epekto nito dahil sarado na umano ang Oscar voting nang sumabog ang kontrobersiya.
Ibig sabihin, malamang na nakapagsumite na ng kanilang balota ang maraming miyembro ng Academy bago pa ito lumaki.
Sa kabila nito, nabago pa rin ng isyu ang usapan tungkol kay Chalamet ilang araw bago ang awards ceremony.
Matagal na siyang itinuturing na isa sa frontrunners para sa Best Actor, pero dahil sa kontrobersiya ay nagkaroon ng dagdag na unpredictability ang laban.
Gaganapin ang 98th Academy Awards sa Dolby Theatre sa Hoillywood, Los Angeles, sa darating na Linggo, March 15 (Lunes, March 16, sa Pilipinas).
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