Conan O’Brien takes a dig at Timothée Chalamet’s ballet-opera controversy: 'I'm told there are concerns about attacks'

For the opening monologue to kick off the 2026 Oscars, host Conan O’Brien took a dig at Hollywood’s biggest target these days. O’Brien joked about Timothée Chalamet’s recent ballet and opera comment, which became a controversy online. As O’Brien made the joke, Chalamet giggled while sitting next to his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner.

Conan O’Brien’s dig at ballet-opera controversy

Oscar 2026 host Conan O'Brien poked fun at the controversy while hosting the March 15 ceremony. "Security is extremely tight tonight," he jokingly told the crowd, including Timothée and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, gathered inside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. "I'm told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities."

How Timothée Chalamet reacted to the joke

After the joke, the cameras cut to Chalamet, who was seen sitting next to his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner. The actor appeared to take the joke in good spirits, smiling, nodding, and laughing along with the crowd. While seated in the front row, he giggled as the comedian made one more quip before moving on, looking at Chalamet as he said, "They're just mad you left out jazz!"

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This dig comes after the ‘Marty Supreme’ actor commented on the popularity and existence of art forms like ballet and opera. While chatting with Matthew McConaughey during an on-camera Variety interview, Chalamet randomly took a shot at opera and ballet, saying, “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.’”

As for the Oscars, Chalamet is nominated in the Best Actor category.

For the red carpet look, Timothee chose a timeless ensemble and wore an all-white suit, and accessorized it with sunglasses.

He posed on his own, while his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, unveiled her own red plunging gown on social media during the red carpet.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”