Brett Cooper — Why Everyone Is Mad at Timothée Chalamet | Episode 150

Guys, I know that I'm usually very anti-war, and I do want to stay consistent. However, maybe some war and some real hardship would be good for society because people seriously need something better to do than sitting online just seeking and waiting, hoping, living for the moment that a celebrity says something or does something that they don't like. And this week's victim is none other than Timothée Chalamet. So, a few weeks ago, he did an interview with Matthew McConaughey.

It was, you know, in promotion for his new movie, Marty Supreme, and he's, you know, I think up for an Oscar for that or won an Oscar, I don't even know. But this clip specifically from that interview took over TikTok. Just watch. I don't want to be working in ballet or opera or, you know, things where it's like, "Hey, keep this thing alive even though it's like no one cares about this anymore." All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.

Oh boy, did Timothée Chalamet step on a land mine there because he criticized opera and ballet or he just pointed to the fact that really those are dying art forms in our modern society. Now, you can like or dislike the fact that Timothée Chalamet said that, but I feel like we can't argue that what he said is inaccurate. Now, somebody commented and said, "Who even are you?" Somebody else said, "Hell no, that is such a disrespectful take.

Opera, ballet, and theater are the original arts. It is the epitome of art." Like, but be be so for real, people. Like, even out of context, even in that 15-second clip, that's not what he was saying. He was not saying that it is a lesser form of art. He's not saying that Marty Supreme is better than opera or ballet or theater. That's not even the point. However, because it's the internet, most people had only seen that 15-second clip.

So, now, let's look at what Timothée said in its entirety and more importantly, the question that Matthew McConaughey asked him that prompted that response. Act one, though. Okay. In this day of shorter attention spans and vertical 12-second spots, are we losing attention Mhm. and patience for act ones because it's the first thing that gets cut. It's the first thing that a studio wants to get rid of get I'm seeing act two more and more start on freaking page 12.

I'm seeing series that 10 part series that bam act one's over 32 minutes in this the the opening episode and you're off on the on the conflict right away and I'm going it feels abbreviated to me. >> The logic used to be you save your big action set piece for the end of a movie and you save the fireworks for the end but now they want something up front. I also think there's sort of a reverse thing going on too now. I don't want to speak for people that are here that are younger than me what people desire are desiring things that are more patient and that pull you in.

I just saw another article that says Gen Z is a bigger movie going audience than millennial audience, you know, I feel like a [ __ ] grandpa saying that. And some people want to be entertained quickly. I'm really right in the middle Matthew because I I admire people and I've done it myself to go on a talk show and go hey we got to keep movie theaters alive, you know, we got to keep this genre alive. Another part of me feels like if people want to see it like Barbie like Oppenheimer they're going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it and I don't want to be working in ballet or opera or you know, things where it's like hey keep this thing alive even though it's like no one cares about this thing.

All right, so now you have seen the clip and you know what guys instead of the internet obsessively trying to cancel this man with their insane out of proportion reaction. I actually think that everyone owes him a major thank you because of him people suddenly seem to care about opera and ballet again. Let's talk about it. But we do I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has liked and subscribed who are helping out the channel so much so I really appreciate it.

We also have tons of new subscribers over at Cooper Confidential where you can see all of our farm blogs and behind the scenes content. So if you want to join the party go check it out but I have been loving seeing the responses to all of those videos. So thank you all for being here and being there. Now what is so funny about this interview is like I said in the introduction it is over two weeks old which in the time frame of the internet is like two millennia old at this point.

Like everybody has moved on. And at the time that he and Matthew McConaughey did that interview, there were a few clips circulating about them working together on Interstellar, but this moment had not been posted or it had just not gotten any traction online. I guess, you know, with Iran and all the other stuff Interstellar, there were too many things people were talking about and complaining about. But I guess people got bored because it was not until again two weeks later that this clip started doing the rounds.

And now you need to look at the news, the mainstream news from the last 24 hours. People magazine, CNN, Deadline, everybody is writing about this 1 minute 30 second long interaction. And here's the thing, I get that people in those fine art industries, like opera and dance, I get that they might have been rubbed the wrong way by his comments. I mean, even at the end of the clip, Timothy himself is going like, "Oh, I kind of just took shots at these people, but you know, I was trying to make a point."

But here's the thing, nothing Timothy said is inaccurate. And now, as you all have seen by watching the entire clip, those comments from Timothy were part of a broader discussion about entertainment and what audiences at large want, which is something that we talk about on the show all the time. Like they want fast clippy things. They want fast-paced movies and TV shows where the story arc comes at you fast, where you're not having to wait and watch like 35 episodes before something interesting happens.

They want softcore, hardcore, gay hockey porn. That's what audiences want. They're barely going to movie theaters and they're certainly not choosing to go to the opera or ballet over just sitting on their couch in their cozy earth pajamas like I do and watching Netflix. Like I'm sorry, but Timothy was simply being honest. He was being unfiltered for better or for worse and saying what I'm sure a lot of people in his industry, in Hollywood, would agree with, which is they do not want to be fighting for their career and their art form in a dying industry, begging people to show up and scrounging for money to make their creative projects, which I'm sorry, not to be offensive, but is what has been happening in opera and in ballet and in theater, to be honest.

Like Broadway is dying. And this is all coming from somebody who was a ballet dancer for over a decade, a serious ballet dancer, somebody whose first professional job, the first thing I ever got paid for, was doing Lavoe M, which is an opera at the Atlanta Symphony and Opera. Somebody who spent literally years upon years upon years dreaming of being on Broadway and doing musical theater. I have been in those industries for longer than I've been doing this, and I can agree with Timothy's statement, and I understand where he's coming from.

And sure, you know, people are arguing and saying that he was being arrogant and materialistic, superficial for not wanting to fight for his art. And you can obviously tell at the end of the clip that he wishes he didn't take shots at those industries, but honestly, in the grand scheme of Hollywood and all of this fakery, his honesty is refreshing. And in the grand scheme of the insane things that people say on the internet, especially from people in his industry, his own celebrity peers, why is this news?

Why is this controversial? And more importantly, why are people losing their damn minds over it? It's been like 48 hours of non-stop attacking Timothy Chalamet. Remember when all of the people online, like we talked about last week, came out of the woodwork to criticize the BAFTA Awards, to get angry at that man with Tourette's who yelled out the N-word? When we know, we know for a fact that none of those angry anonymous commenters were actually watching the British acting in film awards to begin with.

They just heard his outburst on X, they watched it in a TikTok, and suddenly it was like their end-all, be-all. It was racism, we had to fight it. When you guys were not watching the show to begin with, you didn't know anything about it. Same thing. Guarantee, the people angry commenting are not going and seeing the opera. What is happening here is everybody is bored online, and they needed something to yell about. And yell they did, because now everyone and their mother is coming out of the woodwork, just like last week, to condemn this atrocity, including our friends over at CNN, who quickly and unequivocally labeled it controversial.

Somebody shared that video and said, "It took CNN multiple attempts to not downplay Islamist terrorist explosives, but they're crystal clear that not liking opera is controversial. Yes, bold journalism. Bold stance you just took CNN. Thank you so much for your work. Now, in one particular viral video that has now been added to this whole discourse online, one ballet dancer, a male ballet dancer, came out to respond.

And at first, I was kind of tracking what he was saying. I thought, "Okay, he's making some interesting points about the economy and high art being more expensive than movie tickets, so it's understandable why people aren't going." But then, because we're essentially back in 2020, da da dun, he had to make it about racism. Let's watch. People still care about ballet and opera. It's just that the tickets for ballet and opera are just mad expensive.

And they are mad expensive because it's high art. So, a lot of people still care about it. Tickets for the movies that Timothy is in are cheap compared to Porgy and Bess and Swan Lake. And considering it's a high art, people come in their best outfits to come and see ballet. Ain't nobody dressing up to go and see Wonka. It's equivalent to taking your girl on a date to Nobu or McDonald's. Ain't nobody putting on their best fit to go to McDonald's.

Also, while we're here, let's talk about how you used black culture and you dressed up as Soulja Boy in 2006 to promote Mardi Supreme. If we really want to take shots, we could really take shots. >> That's not even relevant. It's literally not even relevant in the slightest. It was like, I just have to find something actually to be ANGRY ABOUT. YOU APPROPRIATED MY culture by doing funny movie promotion, by doing outlandish, ridiculous things, which was essentially the basis of the entire Mardi Supreme marketing campaign.

That's not news. That's not actually taking shots. That's just pulling something out of your ass to be mad about. What this man was saying would have been a perfectly appropriate response from a dancer, but then race just had to be included. But anyway, he makes a couple of other good points, so let's finish the video. When AI takes over whatever, bro, they not AI can't go on stage and give a beautiful performance like like Swan Lake.

They could definitely do Mardi Supreme, though. I think in the next coming years that perception of people not caring about ballet and opera will definitely change. >> All right. Now, here's the thing. Regardless of all of the race stuff and ridiculous, I do think that this dancer makes a good point about there possibly being a resurgence of high art, which by the way, the reason why I'm bringing this up is because that is what Timothy was trying to say.

He was saying that between millennials and Gen Z, there seems to be a transition. Gen Z is coming to movie theaters more. They seem to care more about like good pacing and they have patience with these films. They're not just wanting to watch like ready streaming projects. And so he's excited about that and he wants that to continue. So he doesn't have to be working in something like opera or ballet where these poor performers are literally begging people to come.

Like that is what Timothy was saying. Like it was kind of a long-winded way of saying you agree with him, which is the same thing that Jamie Lee Curtis said. I don't know why she felt the need to chime in. Probably cuz reporters everywhere are asking them about this because they have NOTHING BETTER TO TALK ABOUT. Obviously they do, but this is what they're choosing to talk about. Anyway, Jamie Lee Curtis chimed in and she said, "My daughter has been the trans one.

Sorry. Sorry. Okay. My daughter has been a dancer her whole life. My daughter teaches dance and has a dance company. So his comments are silly and I'm sorry that they're going to be a bit of his legacy now." Really? People are going to forget about it in 2 weeks. I'm sure that he regrets the comment because you can't throw those art forms under a bus. You can't do it. They are too important. Does that mean that there is not a reduction in audiences for those art forms?

I'm sure there is. Does that mean it's going to be the destruction of those art forms? No. I mean LIKE OH MY GOSH. You're essentially agreeing with what he said. Somebody commented and said, "What a long-winded condescending way of agreeing with it." Literally, you are agreeing that fewer people care and that that's not a good thing and that that's probably really hard for the performers, which is why Timothy would like to not be in that situation.

Again, you can call that superficial. You can say that he's not enough of an artist. He doesn't want to struggle. He's just being real, to be honest. Now, something interesting is that Misty Copeland, who is probably the most famous modern ballet dancer ever, like she is who I grew up idolizing when I was dancing, she also chimed into this discourse, which does not surprise me. Now, Mindy was also interestingly part of the Marty Supreme, which is Timothy Chalamet's new movie that he wants to win an Oscar for, all that stuff.

She was part of his promotion. So apparently, she feels even more personally attacked and hurt by Timothy's words, and so she, of course, released a statement. I got to start releasing statements, guys. Like, everybody's releasing statements right and left. I got to be like calling up Deadline like, "Brad Cooper's got thoughts." I need to like be in these tweets. Anyway, they post this and they say, "First, I have to say that it's very interesting that he invited me to be a part of promoting Marty Supreme with respect to my art form."

Apparently, that wasn't enough. He wouldn't be an actor and have the opportunities he has as a movie star if it weren't for opera and ballet and their relevance in that medium. So, all of these mediums have a space and we shouldn't be comparing them. Now, my thought, again, I don't know how many times I can say this, is that he wasn't really dissing the art forms, more so commenting on the culture and honestly in a very self-deprecating way.

He was saying that he couldn't or wouldn't want to do what you and your peers do every single day, which is sacrifice and fight and hope that people show up and pay you to do what you love. And by highlighting you and literally paying respect to your art form, which were your own words, and paying you to promote his film, maybe we could also argue that he was actually helping share audiences and bring attention to you and what you love to do, just like Good Ranchers is actually helping American farmers.

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In light of all of this outrage, now, online, we have all of these ballet and opera companies responding as if Timothy is lying. Like, they are trying to prove him wrong and say, "NO, WE'RE ACTUALLY NOT STRUGGLING." But again, literally, based on the metrics, you are struggling. We can debate uh whether that is a good thing. I don't think it's a good thing, but you are, in fact, struggling. But these are some of the posts that they've been putting up.

>> And I don't want [music] to be working in ballet or opera, or, you know, things where it's like, "Hey, keep this thing alive even though it's No one cares about these things anymore." And again, I understand being protective of your art form and wanting to defend it. And I'm sure with all of the internet outrage, everybody is being told that they need to be angry. But in my personal and professional opinion, you know, this could have been a unique opportunity for these dancers, for these, you know, companies, these artistic companies to say, "Yes, actually, you know what?

He's kind of right. We are a dying art form, but our dancers, our singers, our costume designers, our crew, our musicians, they work really hard. They sacrifice every single day to keep it going even in a changing culture. There's rejection to us in a lot of ways and innovated beyond us. So, you should come help us and you should come see a show." But instead, they're focused on proving him wrong, which honestly, you can't really do.

Like for example, just take a look at this TikTok. This is from a former professional ballet dancer. She posted this over the summer, but it does feel relevant to what I'm saying. Just watch. >> Do professional ballerinas make living wage? I retired 3 years ago, and this is one of the most common questions that I get. This is a contract from my my 2019-2020 season. I can't find any of my other contracts. I retired in 2022.

This is at the peak of my career, I was making $1,026.27 per week for 36 weeks, which came out to about $37,000 pre-tax. When I first joined this company, my salary for the same hours, same schedule was around $17,000. So, at the peak of my career, I was able to work up to $37,000. To me, that's a problem. 37 grand for the season. 17 if they're just starting out. And then after the season is over, they can't just go get a different job because they have to be staying in shape, working out, doing rehearsals.

Yes, they can get a side job, obviously. They probably need to get a side job in order to pay the bills, but they have to continue to dance. That is still the primary focus of their life even if they are not getting paid by the company during that time period. And these dancers are killing their bodies day in and day out. Their careers often don't last beyond the age of 35 because of the physical demands. So, after that, THEY'RE OUT COLD AND THEY HAVE TO find a new career.

But these dancers, to their credit and singers, they do it because they love it. Even though they barely make any money and our society objectively does not value it as much as other forms of entertainment. And again, I get feeling personally attacked and wanting to defend your art form, but maybe let's read the room. Let's have a little self-awareness and a strategy before everyone starts losing their mind and canceling somebody for saying something that is true.

We can admit that it's a problem, but not get angry at the messenger. Moving on from that, I have to say I think that my favorite response to all of this has been from Doja Cat because for some reason don't even know why she's talking about this. I also have to say I don't feel like this woman could stay quiet long enough to watch ballet or go to the opera. And I'm sorry, but I do not think that she is a regular patron.

You can prove me wrong, Doja Cat, but I don't think you are going to the opera or ballet regularly. I think you just wanted to chime in and be angry about something like basically everybody online. But the best part of her response, which is like 3 minutes long, is not even her crapping on Timothée Chalamet. It is that she also acknowledges like everyone else that these art forms, that ballet, is having a hard time.

Just watch. It doesn't matter if if the industry is having a tough time at any time, which a lot of industries have a tough time. Your industry has a tough time. My industry has a tough time. Doesn't mean people don't care about it. People care. Dancers care. The singers care. The audience cares. There's still an audience. People give a [ __ ] You show up in a nice outfit. You sit the [ __ ] down and shut the [ __ ] up.

That's the usual etiquette around those things. What even what this isn't even relevant. She's shaming him, but she's simultaneously acknowledging that it is going through a tough time. And yes, obviously the dancers care. Like they care so much, which is why they're fighting for this industry tooth and nail, which is what he's saying he doesn't want to have to do. He wants to save Hollywood before that happens. And you're just telling him he should shut up about something that is objectively true that you just admitted is true.

Again, I think that she just wants to be included. She wants to be outraged over something. And the fact that these dancers and these singers do care and keep showing up is the same thing Timothy is saying. It's why he wants to save movie theaters, you [ __ ] Anyway, somebody commented and said, "Girl, focus on your next album instead of playing savior for 400-year-old dances that nobody under 50 watches."

Again, as a dancer, that makes me sad, but it's kind of funny cuz it's true. Now, thankfully, some of the internet has common sense and is able to rise above the insanity. Somebody commented and said, "I can't believe Timothée Chalamet insinuated that ballet and opera are no longer relevant in mainstream culture, that he hopes cinema doesn't end up the same way. Does he know how offensive that is to me, a person who likes misinterpreting things and getting angry about them?"

Literally the entire internet. Somebody else commented and said, "The internet suddenly remembering opera and ballet exist just to be collectively mad at Timothée Chalamet is absolutely wild." But again, this basically happens with something every single week. I guarantee there are more people leaving angry messages and being angry at Timothy than people who actually attend the opera and the ballet on a regular basis.

And most importantly, the people in those fields understand that even if they are angry at him, even if they are rubbed the wrong way. This TikTok in particular was fantastic. Just listen. No one does care about ballet or opera, and that is a hyperbolic way to say it. I wish that Timothée Chalamet said it in a different way, but everyone who works in these fields understands that no one cares. That you are fighting uphill because no one cares.

You don't even probably care. You probably just don't like Timothée Chalamet, or you're like on the train of whatever this conversation is. But you probably don't even really, really care. You don't know who makes this work or what it's about, the artists, their names, where they come from, what institutions they belong to, what those institutions are. You don't visit them regularly or patronize them on a consistent basis.

You don't even really care. You know? Everyone who works in these fields knows that the subscriber bases are dying. The audience is dying. That's not a figure of speech, it's not a metaphor. They are literally geriatric and dying. >> It's the boomers. It's our grandparents, our great-grandparents. They are the patrons who pay for season tickets to the opera and the symphony and the ballet. Literally, they are dying off, like he said.

Those are the people that do care. The people that are screaming online just want to be angry about something. But honestly, guys, like the good thing is because of Timothy and because of the outrage, the fine arts, opera, ballet, theater, they are actually getting more publicity and more patronage than they have in years. So again, like I said at the top, maybe we should be thanking him. Actually, guys, this was even something that Vanity Fair was brave enough to admit.

And shockingly, they actually went after all of the angry commenters, the angry internet detractors, which is a very bold and unique thing for a journalist and a mainstream publication to do. Maybe it's a sign of some changing times, I don't know. Anyway, in this article, this response, they wrote this. They said, "Those attempting to dunk on Chalamet keep proving his point. People are trying to prove that the public still cherishes these art forms by sharing stills from decade-plus-old films like Pretty Woman and Center Stage and Black Swan.

Fun fact, those are all movies, actually. The fine art companies that have posted anti-Chalamet commentary have heightened their profiles considerably, showing that a movie star weighing in on their art makes a tangible difference. Maybe his industry still has people who care, and he's helping you out." Anyway, they go on, "For what it's worth, Chalamet comes from a dance family. His grandmother, his mother, and his sister all performed with the New York City Ballet.

Some believe this makes Chalamet's remarks sting even more. But isn't it reasonable to believe that Chalamet mentioned ballet because he is intimately familiar with how that art form has more or less been left behind by society." And I would add to that, maybe he's also intimately familiar with how the artists in those fields feel and how he does not want that to happen to his own industry. Maybe he's watched the difference between his grandmother and his mother and now his sister's career, seeing the toll that it takes on them and their passion and their joy, and he is trying to protect that, keep that from happening to him and his peers.

That is what I got from his comments. Again, maybe he could have said it in a better way. I think he knows that, considering he was like, "Oh, maybe I shouldn't have taken shots." But he was saying something that was unfiltered and that was honest and honestly could be helpful. Objectively, in my opinion, is helpful. Anyway, Vanity Fair goes on and they talk about how people have been lamenting the decline of opera even in the 1960s.

They gave a quote here, "It was quite old-fashioned, I feel. We haven't done much to modernize it." That was said in the 1960s. So, please, Vanity Fair writes, "Patronize the arts. Put your son in ballet so he can dance like Mikhail Baryshnikov. Teach your daughter to sing like Leontyne Price, but don't get mad at Chalamet for stating the obvious." Sure, his delivery was a bit blunt and some find his hypebeast personality grating.

That's the basis of a whole different essay, to be honest. But to be so off-put by somebody's vibe that you are willing to deny reality just to tear them down is delusion befitting of a prima donna. Honestly, that last sentence is such a banger and we can apply it to so many things going on in society right now that just because people want to be outraged about something, just because they do not like the messenger, they are willing to reject the truth and the reality of what that individual is saying or trying to communicate.

Like, it is just so perfect. And maybe the Chronicle online will save the opera with their prima donna drama and gravitas. Like, it could be the one thing to come out of this constant internet outrage. I don't know. And listen, again, Timothy is right. And it is objectively sad to see these great, fine, high art forms fall and to see younger generations prefer, you know, short-form media and content that is designed for streaming instead of these intricate and dramatic and very sacrificial forms of art and entertainment, which really is what dance and opera is.

But for better or for worse, those industries have chosen and I would say understandably and with great pride to not innovate, to not follow the changing trends, to not adapt. And like Vanity Fair said, as they've been making that decision, they have also been sounding the alarms about this transition in society and how we consume content for more than 50 years. And even though I know we talk crap about them all the time, if we're being real here, it's probably helped Hollywood that they have kind of straddled this modern era of content, which probably pays the bills and keeps the industry running, while still slowly churning out these, you know, movie theater blockbusters and serious films, hoping that at some point people will come back and start buying tickets like they used to.

Hoping that at some point audience trends will change. And Timothy in that clip was saying that based on his assumption, what he's been reading, what he's noticed, that they already have started to change. But who knows? Like honestly, like maybe ballet and opera didn't need to do any of that innovation because after 50 years, after chugging along, sacrificing, begging people to show up, maybe all they needed was a viral clip and a healthy dose of internet outrage to inject some comes from this ridiculousness, I'll be happy.

That is the good thing. I'm about to go ahead over to my mom's house because she just texted and said that a baby is being born. So, let's go. All right, so my mom is [music] going down to check on her right now. Taking a peek. This is Donald, by the way. Donald Trump.