Kevin O'Leary Defends Timothée Chalamet Amid Ballet Controversy

Mar 15, 2026 2:31pm PT ‘Marty Supreme’ Star Kevin O’Leary Defends Timothée Chalamet Amid Ballet and Opera Controversy: ‘He Took a Bum Rap on That’ By Arushi Jacob Plus Icon Arushi Jacob Latest Domhnall Gleeson Accepts Oscar Wilde Award, Pays Tribute to 2018 Honoree Catherine O’Hara: ‘Any Club She’s in Is One I’m Very Proud to Be a Member of’ 2 days ago Audiences Prefer Films With Diverse Casts, UCLA Study Finds 3 days ago ‘Rick and Morty’ Season 9 Sets May Release Date and Promises ‘No AI Slop. Just Organic Slop’ 4 days ago See All Getty Images “Shark Tank” host and recent “Marty Supreme” star Kevin O’Leary is backing his co-star Timothée Chalamet at the 98th Academy Awards. Ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, O’Leary spoke to Variety and CNN on the red carpet, defending Chalamet against criticism surrounding his recent remarks about ballet and opera being a dying art. “He’s a really great guy,” O’Leary told Variety. “I just put 1000 bucks on Kelshi walking in here that he’s going to win, because I know the voting stops long before that controversy happened. The kid is a great kid. He took a bum rap on that. And by the way, gave a lot of promo to opera houses and ballet.” Related Stories 'Pizza Movie' Review: Gaten Matarazzo Goes from Stranger to Sillier Things in a Goofy Bad-Trip Comedy Harry Styles' 'Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.' Becomes His Fourth Consecutive Album to Debut at No. 1 on the Charts Josh Groban, who will be performing at the Oscars ceremony, commented on the importance of the classical arts, saying, “We need the arts to remind us what our humanity is, who we are as human beings when everyone is trying to tell us how different we are and how angry we should be. We need these art forms to bring us together.” Popular on Variety “I think the fact that [Chalamet’s comments] have galvanized people to talk about and celebrate these categories of the arts had he not said those things, it’s had an accidentally positive effect,” Groban said. “We’ve all said things, and he’s had a lot of people saying a lot of things, and I’m not going to add to it, so I will just say that we should support those arts 100%.” O’Leary also commented on his role in the movie, saying, “I always feel you should get out of your comfort zone as often as you can, because you exercise the most important muscle in your body, your brain. I really enjoyed it. I was working with A-listers like Gwyneth, and Timmy was amazing. Even my agent said, ‘Don’t do this. You don’t know how to act.’ I said, ‘Why don’t I try it?’ Now I’m going to try and do one a year.” The venture capitalist also revealed that Chalamet’s “rear end was glowing red” by the time the actors were done filming the scene in “Marty Supreme,” where O’Leary’s character whacks Chalamet with a ping-pong paddle. “There was a stunt rear end,” said O’Leary. “But he stepped up at 3:45 in the morning and said, ‘I want it to be mine.'” Chalamet is up for best actor for his role as Marty Mauser in “Marty Supreme,” along with a nod for best picture as a producer. “Marty Supreme” received a total of nine nominations, including best director and best original screenplay. Jump to Comments Bob Costas to Return to NBC as Host of Sunday Night Baseball Pre-Game Show Rob Hyland’s Super Bowl: How NBC Sports Football Producer Prepares for ‘Uncharted Waters’ With Mike Tirico ESPN Will Replace Summer ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ With ‘Women’s Sports Sundays’ (EXCLUSIVE) Mary Carillo Will Take Over for Savannah Guthrie at NBC Sports’ Winter Olympics NBC Sports Seeking Replacement for Savannah Guthrie at Winter Olympics NBC’s Fast-Paced ‘Gold Zone’ Conjures Visions of Quick-Hit TV Viewing Across Sports, News, Debates JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments...