Timothée Chalamet didn’t win an Oscar. Was it simply bad luck — or do some viewers think something else was going on?
Chalamet has now been nominated for three Academy Awards, earning recognition for Call Me By Your Name, A Complete Unknown, and, most recently, Marty Supreme.
For much of the awards season, many pundits believed the Best Actor prize was his to lose.
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Instead, the 98th Academy Awards ended with Michael B. Jordan taking home the trophy for his performance in Sinners.
Did Timothée Chalamet hurt his own Oscar chances?
Chalamet has become one of Hollywood’s most talked-about actors — but he’s also a somewhat polarising figure.
His performances are widely praised, yet some of his comments about acting and “greatness” have occasionally divided audiences.
For example, when he won the SAG Award last year, he told the audience: “I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats.”
More recently, he also sparked backlash after discussing ballet and opera in a long conversation with Matthew McConaughey.
During a lengthy CNN interview, Chalamet suggested he preferred working in mediums that attract large audiences.
“I don’t want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore,’” he said.
He later added: “All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there… I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
The comments quickly circulated online and sparked criticism from some viewers.
Fans claim there was a Timothée Chalamet “smear campaign”
To be clear, Chalamet made those remarks himself. And despite claims circulating online, the comments weren’t from years ago.
They came from a 70-minute interview shared by Variety and CNN on February 24, 2026.
However, some viewers now believe the backlash surrounding the comments damaged his Oscar chances.
“The real story here is that someone ran a smear campaign against Chalamet and it probably worked,” one user wrote on X.
“Poor Timmy Chalamet. Someone’s clearly coming after him and the smear campaign seems to be working,” another posted.
Others suggested the criticism may have influenced voters.
Final Oscar voting opened on February 26, just two days after the interview clips began circulating.
However, the controversy didn’t go viral until early March — and voting officially closed on March 5.
“Oscar voting had already ended so anyone criticising Chalamet now literally can’t hurt his chances,” one viewer argued.
Smear campaigns during awards season aren’t unheard of. Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was once notorious for aggressive awards campaigns designed to undermine competing films and performances.
Whether anything similar happened here remains speculation. One thing seems certain, though — Chalamet may be a little more careful about discussing ballet and opera next time.
Read more: From Sinners to Hamnet, where to stream every 2026 Best Picture nominee
The 2026 Oscars are available to stream on ITVX now.