AceShowbiz - Doja Cat has publicly responded to comments made by Timothée Chalamet regarding ballet and opera, joining the growing chorus of criticism aimed at the actor. Chalamet recently sparked controversy within the theater community after suggesting in an interview that "no one cares" about these classical art forms anymore.

In a TikTok video posted on Sunday, March 8, which has since been deleted, Doja Cat pushed back against the actor’s dismissal, emphasizing the longstanding cultural significance of opera and ballet. "Opera is 400 years old. Ballet is 500 years old," she stated. "Somebody named Tim-oh-tay Cha-lam-et had the nerve to say - on camera - that nobody cares about it. I’m sure you can walk into an opera theater right now, seats will be filled out, and nobody’s saying a word as the performance is going because everybody has that much respect for it."

The Grammy-winning artist, whose real name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, highlighted the strict etiquette surrounding these art forms. She praised the discipline and dedication of dancers, explaining, "There is an etiquette around opera. There is etiquette around ballet. It’s amazing. It’s an amazing theater medium. It’s f---ing beautiful and people go there every day to the dance studio. Dancers show up at 8am, 6am. They show up and they break and they bleed, every single day. Just because they have respect for it."

Doja Cat continued by underlining the passion that performers maintain for their crafts, regardless of the current challenges faced by the industry. "They love what they do. It doesn’t matter if the industry is having a tough time at any time, which a lot of industries have a tough time," she said. "Your industry has a tough time. My industry has a tough time. Doesn’t mean people don’t care about it. People care."

She concluded her remarks by addressing the audience and the expected decorum at such performances. "The dancers care, the singers care, the audience cares. There’s still an audience. People give a f---. You show up in a nice outfit. You sit the f--- down and shut the f--- up. That’s the usual etiquette around those things. Maybe learn something from that."

Entertainment Weekly reached out to representatives for Chalamet for comment regarding the ongoing debate.

Timothée Chalamet first faced backlash following a February CNN/Variety town hall interview where his comments about ballet and opera went viral. During the conversation with Matthew McConaughey, the actor discussed concerns about theatrical moviegoing becoming a niche medium, akin to theater, and the challenges involved in marketing serious films.

"It does take you having to wave a flag of, ‘Hey, this is a serious movie’ or something. And some people want to be [entertained] quickly," Chalamet said. "I’m really right in the middle, Matthew, because I admire people – and I have done it myself – to go on a talk show about, ‘Hey, we got to keep movie theaters alive. We got to keep this genre alive.’"

He added, "I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.’"

Notably, Chalamet has close personal ties to ballet, as his grandmother, mother, and sister are professional dancers who have performed with the New York City Ballet. After making the controversial statement, he acknowledged the ballet and opera communities, saying, "All respect to the ballet and opera people out there." He then joked, "I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I just took shots for no reason."

The backlash against Chalamet has been significant, with performers from ballet and opera speaking out in response. The Metropolitan Opera posted a tribute video on Thursday showcasing the dedication of set decorators, musicians, costumers, and theatrical technicians, captioned, "This one’s for you, @tchalamet."

Similarly, London's Royal Ballet and Opera released a video that began with an audio clip of Chalamet's controversial remarks, followed by scenes of applauding audiences and the message, "We care."

This ongoing controversy highlights the passion and respect both performers and audiences retain for ballet and opera, despite challenges faced by these traditional art forms in the modern entertainment landscape.