Timothee Chalamet and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner's reaction to Conan O'Brien's jab at his opera controversy is grabbing the headlines.
The 98th Academy Awards (Oscars 2026) is taking place today, on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles. Hosted by Conan O'Brien for the second consecutive year, the ceremony celebrates the best films released in 2025. This annual event is dominating the headlines due to its star-studded affair. Besides news about celebrity fashion and potential winners of the 2026 Oscars, the spotlight fell on their controversies as well. The host, Conan, took a dig at the latest opera controversy of Marty Supreme star, Timothée Chalamet, and the latter's reaction to that went viral.
At the 2026 Oscars, host, Conan O'Brien took a sharp jab at Timothée Chalamet, citing the latter's viral opera and ballet controversy. During his opening monologue, 62-year-old Conan sarcastically stated that the security for the evening was exceptionally tight due to "concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities." He followed up the comment with a humorous statement, "They're just mad you left out jazz." The light-hearted jabs at Timothée Chalamet didn't end at that. Later in the show, ahead of the award for Best Animated Feature, Conan O'Brien once again called him out, stating:
"I'm vibing with Timothée right now. We're vibing, right? He doesn't think so."
When Conan O'Brien joked about Timothée Chalamet's recent controversial comments regarding ballet and opera, the camera quickly panned towards the Dune actor. He was seen smiling and laughing in the audience alongwith his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, who was seated next to him. It shows that Timothée took Conan's comment in a sporty way. Even though he seemed unaffected by it, some reports suggested he may have felt briefly embarrassed, given the ongoing backlash from the arts community.
During a Variety and CNN Town Hall event held in February 2026, Timothée Chalamet discussed the importance of preserving the moviegoing experience. He stated that opera and ballet are now obsolete art forms, and that not many people are interested in them anymore. He added that he himself would not be a part of anything that has lost relevance in the current time. However, upon realising that the statements could hurt the feelings of art enthusiasts, Timothée immediately followed up with a joke.
Timothée said that he "just lost 14 cents in viewership" and was "taking shots for no reason." However, his attempt couldn't save him from widespread outrage as the clip quickly went viral. Compared cinema to other performing arts, he stated:
"If people want to see it [movies], like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they're going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it. 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."
If Timothée Chalamet loses the 2026 Oscar for Best Actor, it won't be because of the ballet and opera controversy. The primary reason why it won't affect the outcome is that the final Oscar voting for the 2026 ceremony closed on March 5, at 5 p.m. PT. Timothée's remark did not go viral or cause a significant public outcry until March 6 or 7, way after ballots were legally sealed. Veteran awards columnist, Pete Hammond noted the controversy has had "zero effect" on the Oscars because it arrived too late to influence the Academy's 10,000+ voters.
What are your thoughts on Conan O'Brien taking a dig at Timothee Chalamet at the Oscars 2026? Let us know.
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