The last few months have seen Timothée Chalamet make headlines for a myriad of reasons, as the star really made the rounds during awards season. Chalamet spent that time promoting his latest film, Marty Supreme, for which he received acclaim. More recently, though, the Oscar nominee was at the center of viral controversy due to comments he made about ballet and opera. Since then, a few people have poked fun at Chalamet’s situation and, now, Gaten Matarazzo is one of the latest to do a bit of trolling on that front.
Matarazzo marked the conclusion of Stranger Things’ run at the end of 2025 and is now in the midst of promoting his 2026 movie schedule entry, Pizza Movie. With that, Matarazzo and co-star Sean Giambrone apparently took part in a unique way of hyping up the Hulu film. In a video recently shared to Instagram, both Giambrone and Matarazzo stand on a bench against the backdrop of a neighborhood and yell as they talk up their film. By the end of the clip, they also have a humorous exchange. Check it out:
Several of the comments made by the two Pizza Movie stars are funny, and I found myself chuckling when Matarazzo tried to downplay Giambrone’s mention about being told that the film couldn’t go to theaters. What may have really caught viewers’ attention was that last exchange between the two actors, in which one of them says:
Article continues belowBy the way, we want to be clear that we love the ballet, and we love the opera!
That comment is followed up when the other one of the stars says, “I don’t,” with the other questioning why they’d say that. As previously mentioned, there are two levels to this bit of marketing-based trolling. The first is that this promo, in some respects, spoofs one of the promos released during Marty Supreme’s advertisement campaign, which sees Chalamet refer to the Josh Safdie-directed sports dramedy as “an American film” and listing its release date while on top of a giant monument made to look like a ping pong ball. Take a look:
As can be seen, that promo also includes a lengthy camera pan out amid Chalamet’s screams, which is also lampooned in the Pizza Movie clip. Of course, the final few comments refer to a conversation Chalamet had with Matthew McConaughey, during which they discussed the viability of movie theaters moving forward. The Wonka star expressed mixed feelings and concluded that he didn’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’ — all respect to the ballet and opera people out there.”
While Chalamet was speaking to how ballet and opera have become somewhat niche today, his comments weren’t well received by people hailing from both disciplines. Ballet and theater companies clapped back and even used Chalamet’s name for promo code discounts for upcoming shows. Even the hosts of The View criticized the actor’s thoughts on the two artforms. Simultaneously, various users have taken to social media to weigh in with some thoughts and, while it’s a nuanced discussion, I’d argue the hate is somewhat overblown.
It’s hard to get the feeling that Timothée Chalamet’s viral comments – and his methods of promoting Marty Supreme – are now seared within the pop culture zeitgeist. The fact that the Pizza Movie – which tells the story of two friends who search for pizza while high on special drugs – team went as far as to lampoon the controversy and the promo video solidifies the notion of that cultural impact. While I have my feelings on Chalamet’s comments, even I have to say, well played, Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone and co.
Check out Pizza Movie when it becomes available for Hulu subscription holders starting on April 3.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
