April 14, (THEWILL) — The head of the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) has said Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet helped drive a rise in ticket sales following backlash to comments he made earlier this year about ballet and opera.
The backlash began in late February during a promotional tour for the film “Marty Supreme”, when Chalamet appeared at the University of Texas in a conversation with actor Matthew McConaughey.
He said: “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,’” before adding, “All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there.”
The comments sparked criticism across parts of the performing arts world but also brought renewed attention to the industry.
Speaking to The Times on April 14, 2026, RBO chief executive Alex Beard said the reaction was “fantastic.”
Beard noted that the largest share of the RBO’s audience is now aged 20 to 30, which he said goes against the idea that young people do not care about ballet and opera.
He said the organization chose not to respond negatively and instead highlighted its audience growth and activity.
“We simply said ‘Take a look at what we’re doing, mate’ — for instance, the fact that the largest portion of our audience by age is 20 to 30-year-olds,” he said.
Beard said the RBO’s social media response went viral, drawing millions of engagements and helping boost ticket sales.
“And you know what? Our post got two-and-a-half million engagements and half a million shares, just on Instagram. And our ticket sales got an immediate boost. So cheers, Timmy!”
Despite the backlash, industry leaders have since described the moment as an unexpected marketing boost that helped attract new audiences to theatres.
Elsewhere, other performing arts groups also used the moment for promotion. The Seattle Opera, for example, offered ticket discounts using the promo code “TIMOTHEE” and earned over $30,000 in a single weekend.
Evi Ben Ezaga writes on entertainment, culture, and trending stories.
