The last Oscar season was hotter than a red carpet under studio lights, with Ryan Coogler’s Sinners setting the race ablaze, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another stirring up cinephile chaos, and plenty of contenders keeping awards chatter deliciously messy. Then Timothée Chalamet mentioned ballet and opera, and the internet collectively grabbed its pitchforks; Monica Barbaro did not confront him.

Months after the awards-season storm, Monica Barbaro has finally spoken about the controversy, suggesting the internet may have taken Chalamet’s words the wrong way.

Josh Horowitz finally put Monica Barbaro on the spot about Timothée Chalamet’s controversial ballet comments during Happy Sad Confused. Asked whether she had texted her A Complete Unknown co-star after the backlash, Barbaro admitted she had not, but explained that conversations on set about Chalamet’s dancer sister gave her a different perspective.

“No, I didn’t,” she said. Barbaro did not exactly rush to reprimand Chalamet, instead admitting that she could not know precisely what he meant. She recalled Chalamet speaking about his sister’s dancing with genuine admiration on the sets of A Complete Unknown, leading Barbaro to believe his comments were less about diminishing ballet itself and more about audiences increasingly drifting away from such art forms.

On Happy Sad Confused, Barbaro argued that there was some truth beneath the controversy, particularly as ballet and opera struggle for attention, funding, and accessibility. The actress stressed that Timothée Chalamet should explain his own words, but personally preferred not to lead with offense when his remarks could have been a commentary on how little love these art forms receive.

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Nobody would question why Monica Barbaro was cast in Ocean’s Eleven prequel, but asking her about Timothée Chalamet’s ballet comments requires a little more context. Fortunately, her ballet credentials provide it.

Monica Barbaro did not merely dabble in ballet before Hollywood came calling; she started training at five and was already performing by 12, playing Fritz in The Nutcracker with Marin Ballet. Her artistic appetite eventually stretched beyond classical ballet into modern dance, salsa, flamenco, and West African dance, making her résumé impressively nimble.

The discipline followed her from the dance studio to NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned a BFA in Dance. Although the physical demands eventually pushed Monica Barbaro toward acting, ballet remained woven into her craft, helping shape her physicality and performance instincts, which makes her perspective on Timothée Chalamet’s ballet remarks rather fitting.

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Do you agree with what Monia Barbaro had to say about Chalamet's comments? Let us know in the comments!