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Charlize Theron joins chorus of disapproval over Timothée Chalamet’s ballet comments
TL;DR
Charlize Theron has criticized Timothée Chalamet for his disrespectful comments about ballet and opera performers. She emphasized the importance of these art forms and shared her own challenging experiences as a dancer.
Key points
- Charlize Theron criticized Timothée Chalamet's disrespectful comments.
- Theron emphasized the importance of supporting ballet and opera.
- Chalamet made his remarks during a conversation with Matthew McConaughey.
- Other celebrities have also disapproved of Chalamet's statements.
- Theron shared her own difficult experiences as a dancer.
Mentioned in this story
Charlize TheronTimothée ChalametMatthew McConaugheyJamie Lee CurtisMisty CopelandEva MendesHelen HuntLuca Guadagnino
Actor and former ballet dancer Charlize Theron has joined the chorus of disapproval aimed at Timothée Chalamet over his remarks that appeared to disrespect performers of ballet and opera.
In an interview with the New York Times, Theron said: “Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day,” adding: “That was a very reckless comment on two art forms that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time. But in 10 years, AI is going to be able to do Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live.”
Theron, who studied as a teenager at the Joffrey Ballet in New York before a knee injury prevented her from continuing with the art form, also commented on the physical price dancers pay. “It taught me to be tough. It’s borderline abusive. There were several times that I had blood infections from blisters that just never healed. And you don’t get a day off. I’m literally talking about bleeding through your shoes.”
Chalamet made the comments in February during a video conversation with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey, in which he said: “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera … Things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this any more.’” High-profile figures including Jamie Lee Curtis, Sam Taylor-Johnson, ballet star Misty Copeland, Eva Mendes and Helen Hunt have previously registered their disapproval of Chalamet’s remarks, while Italian film-maker and opera director Luca Guadagnino, who cast Chalamet in the 2017 film Call Me By Your Name, defended the actor, saying he didn’t “understand how one [single] comment can become a planetary polemic”.
In the interview, Theron also discussed her childhood and teenage years in South Africa, including her father’s death after being shot by her mother in self-defence. Theron described her father as a “full-blown functioning drunk” and said that her mother “sent me to a boarding school specifically because she wanted me to get out of the house”.
She described in detail the day of the shooting, when her father came to their house in June 1991 in Benoni, near Johannesburg, and attempted to break in. Theron said: “He shot through the steel doors to get in, making it very clear that he was going to kill us … [My mother] came into my bedroom. The two of us were holding the door with our bodies because there wasn’t a lock on it. And he just stepped back and started shooting through the door. And this is the crazy thing: not one bullet hit us.”
Q&A
What did Timothée Chalamet say about ballet and opera?
Timothée Chalamet expressed a lack of interest in working in ballet or opera, suggesting that these art forms should be kept alive despite dwindling interest.
How did Charlize Theron respond to Chalamet's comments?
Charlize Theron condemned Chalamet's remarks as reckless and highlighted the physical challenges faced by dancers, emphasizing the need to support these art forms.
Who else has criticized Timothée Chalamet's remarks on ballet?
High-profile figures such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Misty Copeland, and Eva Mendes have also expressed disapproval of Chalamet's comments regarding ballet and opera.
