Misty Copeland came out of retirement and recovery just in time to make a point on pointe about Timothée Chalamet’s ballet-bashing comments at the Academy Awards. In a star-studded performance of “I Lied To You” from Sinners, she twirled on the hypocritical hater as he sat front row.
Source: PATRICK T. FALLON/Dia Dipasupil
On Sunday night, songwriter Raphael Sadiq opened the show-stopping reenactment, inviting us back into Smoke and Stack’s juke joint with his guitar. In the live-action version of the stunning cinematic sequence, co-stars Jayme Lawson and Li Jun Li surround Miles Caton. Blues legend Buddy Guy, Shaboozey, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Eric Gales, Bobby Rush, Alice Smith, and DJ D-Nice soon emerged to join the powerhouse performance that spanned generations, genres, and geography.
At the musical, emotional, and spiritual peak of Caton’s veil-piercing high note, Copeland dazzlingly danced into center stage. Her beautiful ballet moves followed a stunning series of footworking, twerking, Xiqu, breakdancing, Zaouli, and more. The audience went wild with applause! One of the most notable members of the standing ovation was Best Lead Actor nominee for Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet.
All corners of the internet and media have united to thoroughly thrash the Dune actor for shading the ballet and opera as art forms that “no one cares about.” He made the controversial comments during a Variety and CNN Town Hall with Matthew McConaughey. And the backlash hasn’t taken a break since, except to drag Jack Harlow’s Common Cosplay.
“I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, who go on a talk show and go, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive. You know, we gotta keep this genre alive,’” Chalamet told McConaughey per Entertainment Weekly. “And 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 anymore,” he continued.
“All respect to the ballet and opera people out there,” he added.
You know who cares about ballet? New Oscar winner Ryan Coogler, who included a ballet dancer among the performers in the transcendent music sequence in Sinners. It was only right to feature Copeland, who broke racial barriers in the art form to become one of the most famous ballerinas in the world. Like the legend she is, the 43-year-old delivered a master class on ballet’s relevance on relevé!
Before she was announced as part of the Academy Awards presentation of “I Lied To You,” all eyes were on Copeland for a response to Chalamet’s comments. By the time Copeland pliéd in his face, Chalamet already played in hers as one of the celebrities enlisted to promote his ping pong movie. If that wasn’t shady enough, Timmy’s own mother, grandmother, and sister are professional ballet dancers. Make it make sense!
Check out how Misty Copeland clapped back at Timothée Chalamet’s ignorant interview after the jump!
Misty Copeland Clapped Back At Timothée Chalamet: He “Wouldn’t Be An Actor… If It Weren’t For Opera And Ballet!”
On March 8, Misty Copeland entered the Timothée Chalamet chat while speaking on a panel. “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,” she said noting the audacity.
“I think that it’s important that we acknowledge that, yes, this is an art form that’s not ‘popular’ and a part of pop culture as movies are. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have enduring relevance in culture,” she explained.
“It is often mistaken when something is popular that it’s meaningful or more impactful. there’s a reason that the opera and ballet have been around for over 400 years. There’s a reason that the opera and ballet have been around for over 400 years.
Copeland hit the most graceful mic drop moment when she added that Chalamet “wouldn’t be an actor and have the opportunities he has as a movie star if it weren’t for opera and ballet in their relevance in that medium.”
Let ’em know, Misty!
She also noted that the mission of the Misty Copeland Foundation is to make the history and artform of ballet accessible to more audiences. She delivered on exactly that in the grand finale of the “I Lied To You.”
New Hip, Who Dis? Before Misty Copeland’s Clapback, She Made A Massive Comeback From Hip Surgery
The moment was a triumph for Copeland as much as it was for the culture. The 2026 Academy Awards were her first performance since retiring from professional dancing in late 2025 and undergoing hip replacement surgery.
Less than three months before her perfectly pointed feet were on Chalamet’s neck, she was learning how to walk again. That didn’t stop the stunning star from strutting her stuff on the red carpet in a ballet-inspired David Koma gown with a tutu-style embellishment.
She also wore nearly $2 million in natural diamonds from Jared, totaling about 30 carats, styled by Karla Welch. The jewelry was anchored by a 27-carat emerald-cut diamond ring known as the Jared Mpho Diamond, valued at $1.8 million.
At the red carpet for an Oscars afterparty, Copeland doubled down that Timothée should know better because “he had the privilege of growing up and seeing [ballet] firsthand.” However, she emphasized how vital more resources are for “communities that otherwise wouldn’t have access and opportunity that wouldn’t be exposed to it.”
“It’s really about educating people about the importance of it in our society and that it does play a huge role. It impacts so many other artforms. It’s really about arts education and dance education,” she told Variety in an interview.
That altruistic answer was all that needed to be said after Copeland shut down the stage with what may be her last performance post-retirement.
Hopefully, long after social media has run out of alternative names to troll “Toyota Chevrolet,” this passion about ballet and opera will continue to support the next Misty Copeland or Leontyne Price, who turned 99 in February.
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