Timothée Chalamet sparked a full-blown cultural backlash after his comments on ballet and opera during a conversation in late February.
In response to his comments, the head of the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO), Alex Beard, poked fun at the Academy-nominated actor, saying that following his comments, ticket sales increased.
“I thought it was important that we not issue any kind of sanctimonious response to Chalamet,” he told The Times.
“We just said, ‘Look what we’re doing, guys’ – for example, the fact that the biggest part of our audience by age is 20 to 30-year-olds.”
Beard then adds, “And you know what? Our post got two and a half million engagements and half a million shares on Instagram alone. And our ticket sales increased immediately. So cheers, Timmy!”
Additionally, Seattle Opera took a dig at Chalamet, writing on Instagram that fans can purchase tickets for the Carmen show using the promo code ‘TIMOTHEE’.
“Timmy, you’re welcome to use it too,” the post reads.
Chalamet sparked controversy in a February conversation with Matthew McConaughey about preserving cinema by dismissing opera and ballet as art forms.
“I don’t want to work in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive even if nobody cares about it anymore,'” he said, adding, “All due respect to all the ballet and opera people.”
