The Oscar-winning star lightly walked back her prior criticism of Chalamet’s controversial remarks about performing arts like ballet.

Charlize Theron clarifies Timothée Chalamet criticism after slamming actor: ‘Talked out of my ass’

The Oscar-winning star lightly walked back her prior criticism of Chalamet's controversial remarks about performing arts like ballet.

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April 23, 2026 11:12 a.m. ET

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Charlize Theron; Timothée Chalamet. Credit:

- Charlize Theron has clarified her criticism of Timothée Chalamet after he gave "reckless" quotes about performing arts like ballet.

- Theron said she "talked out of my ass" when speculating that Chalamet will be replaced by AI in 10 years.

- "I don’t know what’s going to happen in 10 years," the Oscar winner said while promoting new movie *Apex*.

Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron has lightly clarified her criticism of fellow actor Timothée Chalamet, days after a *New York Times* profile included speculation on her part that artificial intelligence would replace him in 10 years.

Speaking to *Variety* on the red carpet of her *Apex* movie premiere Wednesday, the upcoming *Odyssey* star walked back her projection that "AI is going to be able to do Timothée’s job" on the big screen, in a wider conversation that circled around to the 30-year-old *Marty Supreme* performer's controversial comments earlier this year about performing arts like opera and ballet.

"Honestly, I talked out of my ass. I don’t know what’s going to happen in 10 years. Nobody does," Theron, 50, said. "Nobody knows what’s going to happen in 10 years. I assume that living, live performance would be hard [for AI to replicate.]"**

Charlize Theron.

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She added that "somebody was like, 'There’s a dancing robot out in Hong Kong,' but he’s not Misty Copeland, okay?"

Theron again stressed that she doesn't "know what’s going to happen in 10 years," and "I think we’re all just taking it day by day" as AI enhances.

"I got to make this movie, and it’s not AI, it’s me," she continued, bringing the topic back around to the Netflix action thriller *Apex*, which also stars Taron Egerton. "So, things are good."

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In the *Times* profile, Theron said of Chalamet's comments, "Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day," adding that it "was a very reckless comment on an art form, two art forms, that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time."

Chalamet said during a CNN town hall discussion with Matthew McConaughey in February that he doesn'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."

His comments drew swift condemnation from several corners of the entertainment industry, with anonymous Oscar voters telling *** *they were offended by the comments.

"Oh, yeah. F--- that guy," one actor told us. "It's so trashy. Punching down on artists who make a fraction of what he makes, yet have spent 10 to 20 years honing their craft? I'm sorry, you know, this guy is not Philip Seymour Hoffman. And Philip Seymour Hoffman would certainly never punch down on opera or ballet dancers," the performer continued. "That's an entitled dude. I'm sorry. I lost a lot of respect for him."

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Academy Awards host Conan O'Brien also joked about the incident at the ceremony, which Chalamet attended with his girlfriend Kylie Jenner.

"Security is extremely tight tonight. Just gotta mention that," O'Brien said in his monologue, initially appearing to reference reported safety measure increases following an FBI warning of a potential "surprise attack" from Iran. However, O'Brien finished by quipping, "I'm told there's concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities."

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