SPIELBERG DEFENDS BALLET AND OPERA AT SXSW

Steven Spielberg publicly praised two of the oldest performing arts during his SXSW keynote, seemingly responding to the ongoing Timothée Chalamet controversy

Mar 15, 2026

The internet's weeks-long debate about ballet and opera just gained a heavyweight defender. Steven Spielberg, the legendary director who has shaped cinema for over five decades, threw his considerable influence behind the performing arts during a live podcast conversation at SXSW on March 13.

Speaking with Sean Fennessey, host of The Big Picture podcast, Spielberg reflected on the unique communal power of the arts. In a moment that felt spontaneous yet resonant, he suddenly emphasized: "It happens in movies. It happens in concerts. It happens in ballet and opera!" The audience erupted in cheers and whoops of approval.

The director was articulating what he sees as the irreplaceable magic of live performance—that intangible feeling of gathering in a shared space with strangers and emerging transformed by the experience. "The real experience comes when we can influence a community to congregate in a strange, dark place," he explained. "At the end of a really good movie experience, we are all united… There's nothing like that."

The Chalamet Context

The significance of Spielberg's words became immediately clear: his comments arrived as a gentle—but unmistakable—response to the controversy surrounding actor Timothée Chalamet, who sparked considerable backlash earlier this year with his dismissal of ballet and opera.

During a February town hall hosted by Variety and CNN, where Chalamet was promoting his film Marty Supreme alongside Matthew McConaughey, he made casual but cutting remarks about the state of performing arts. Speaking about the challenge of keeping movie theaters alive, Chalamet joked: "I don't want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it's like, 'Hey, keep this thing alive,' even though it's like, no one cares about this anymore." He added a quick caveat: "All respect to the ballet and opera people out there."

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

— Timothée Chalamet, February 2024

The comments went viral almost immediately, drawing sharp criticism from across the performing arts world. New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck responded on Instagram, arguing that the idea that "no one cares about ballet or opera anymore" was fundamentally wrong. She highlighted the dedication of the artists, musicians, and stage crews who have committed their lives to the craft.

Ballet superstar Misty Copeland also weighed in, offering important historical perspective. While acknowledging that opera and ballet may not dominate contemporary pop culture in the way film does, she emphasized their undeniable cultural endurance. "There's a reason that the opera and ballet have been around for over 400 years," she noted pointedly.

A Moment That Resonates

When Spielberg then praised those same art forms during his SXSW keynote—and the crowd gave its enthusiastic approval—the moment transcended a passing comment. In the context of the internet's ongoing Chalamet saga, it functioned as something more deliberate: a gentle but firm correction from one of cinema's greatest living directors.