Jeopardy! buzzed in with a rebuttal to Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet’s controversial comments about art forms “no one cares about anymore,” like ballet and opera.
On Monday, the game show’s official Instagram account posted a clip of contestants demonstrating their knowledge of the art forms by acing a “Ballet & Opera” category in just one minute.
“NOBODY @ HIM👀 #TimotheeChalamet,” Jeopardy! captioned the video.
Jeopardy‘s post comes two weeks after Chalamet, 30, discussed the importance of maintaining cinema’s relevance in a wide-ranging conversation at a Variety/CNN town hall with Matthew McConaughey.
The A-lister, who is currently nominated for an Oscar for the A24 blockbuster hit Marty Supreme, reiterated his desire to sell tickets, and lots of them.
“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,’” Chalamet said in February, laughing. “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.”
Almost immediately, Chalamet qualified his statement. “I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I’m taking shots for no reason.” Chalamet said.
The off-the-cuff comments have put Chalamet in hot water with the arts community, which erupted in March when the actor’s quotes resurfaced.
Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis posted in an Instagram story, “Why are any artists taking shots at any other artists?”
American opera singer Isabel Leonard added, “To take cheap shots at fellow artists says more in this interview than anything else he could say. Shows a lot about his character.”
Opera and ballet organizations around the world joined in on the firestorm. The Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the Paris Opera both released Instagram videos responding to the remarks, using the media coverage to promote their work.
The Seattle Opera offered fans a 14 percent discount in honor of Chalamet’s comments, even letting the actor in on the promotion.
“Timmy, you’re welcome to use it too 💃,” the Opera captioned the post. “See you at the opera!”
SNL Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost joined in, mocking Chalamet’s comments that “no one cares about” ballet and opera.
“Chalamet,” Jost said on Saturday, “made the comment on a press tour for his movie about ping-pong.”
The Oscar hopeful’s disparaging comments may further erode his chances of taking home the coveted golden statue on Academy Awards night on Sunday.
While Chalamet is considered a strong contender for this year’s Best Actor Oscar with early awards-race wins, he lost both the BAFTAs and the Actor Award, the latter of which went to Oscar rival Michael B. Jordan for Sinners.
With five days to go until the ceremony, Polymarket currently has Jordan leading the pack with a 59% chance of victory compared to 33% for former frontrunner Chalamet.
