Timothée Chalamet is facing backlash over a message directed at his fans in Ukraine, deemed too shallow in light of the war that has claimed thousands of lives in the country.
The 30-year-old actor recently took home Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe awards for his role in Marty Supreme, a film based on the life of ping-pong champion Marty Reisman.
Highlights
- Timothée Chalamet is facing criticism over a video addressing his fans in Kyiv, Ukraine.
- The actor was asked to send a message ahead of the release of his film ‘Marty Supreme’ in the country.
- His comments were described as “tone-deaf” and “self-absorbed,” with some critics calling for the actor to be “canceled.”
Timothée has not previously been quiet about his political views. In 2020, he was filmed screaming, “F*** Donald Trump!” from inside his car after Joe Biden won the US presidential election.
Timothée Chalamet is being slammed after sending a "shout out" to his fans in Ukraine
Image credits: Brianna Bryson/Getty Images
The French-American actor also shared a meme reading, “If Georgia goes blue…,” accompanied by a suggestive water drop emoji.
On Wednesday (January 14), Timothée was slammed for a perceived “tone-deaf” message to his fans in Ukraine.
“Do you have anything to say to your Ukrainian audience? Because Marty Supreme will be shown in Kyiv,” a representative from the Ukraine cinema distributor Green Light Films asked the actor.
Image credits: A24
“Cool. Thank you to everyone for seeing the film in Kyiv. Shout-out over here. Appreciate it,” the star replied, turning the camera toward the interviewer and adding, “They wanna see you!”
The short video was later shared on the Instagram account of UNITED24, Ukraine’s official fundraising platform launched by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Text overlay on the video read, “American actor Timothée Chalamet shares a message to Ukrainian fans.”
The 30-year-old actor was asked to send a message to Ukrainian fans ahead of the release of Marty Supreme in the country
Image credits: united24.media
His brief comment and lack of any reference to the conflict did not sit well with viewers. One user wrote, “Is the message in the room with us?”
A Ukrainian woman commented, “The message here is sadly eloquent without words. I admired his talent, but as a person… If he were a teenager, it could somehow be excused: didn’t know how to react, got confused, something like that. But at this age, it’s truly a statement.”
“It looks like he couldn’t care less,” another comment read.
Image credits: greenlightfilms.ua
“I’m genuinely speechless after hearing about Timothée’s response to his Ukrainian fans. Telling a population in the middle of a conflict, 'Don’t worry, Marty Supreme will be shown in Kyiv,' is beyond tone-deaf. It’s a level of detachment from reality that is honestly frightening,” fumed one user.
“I'm not surprised; I just point out that he needs to be canceled for good,” stated someone else.
“Self-absorption is not a cute look,” one user said, while another called the Oscar-nominated actor a “ PR nightmare.”
Viewers deemed the message "tone-deaf" given the approximately 14,000 civilians who have lost their lives in Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion
Image credits: Stefan Rousseau/Getty Images
In 2025, Ukrainian civilians endured the most fatal year since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of their country in 2022, with more than 2,500 people being fatally attacked last year, according to a United Nations report. The total number of civilians who have lost their lives since 2022 has been reported at 14,534.
More than a third of the civilians who were injured or fatally attacked were located in areas far from the front lines.
Last year, Russia increased its use of long-range weapons, such as drones and missiles, which “exposed civilians across the country to heightened risk,” explained Danielle Bell, who heads the UN monitoring mission in Ukraine.
Image credits: Michael Kovac/Getty Images
According to the UN, the most fatal attack using long-range weapons happened in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil on November 19, which resulted in the loss of 38 civilians, including eight children.
At last year’s Oscars, viewers on Reddit suggested that during a skit, Adam Sandler, dressed in a blue tracksuit, walked toward Timothée, who was wearing a yellow suit, and hugged him to form the Ukrainian flag and show support for the country.
“It looks like he couldn’t care less,” one critic commented
Timothée has previously been criticized for comments he has made about his own achievements in the film industry.
“This is probably my best performance,” he said during the Marty Supreme press tour. “And it’s been seven, eight years that I feel like I’ve been handing in really, really, committed, top-of-the-line performances. This is some top-level sh*t.
“Sometimes you gotta call things as they are and not tiptoe. I wanna look back on my interviews in my sixties and say, ‘Man, I was really speaking the truth.’”
Image credits: tchalamet
While some fans praised the Dune actor for speaking honestly about his talent, others described his comments as “boastful.”
Comedian Chelsea Handler called him out in the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, saying it’s “hard to hear someone talk about how great they are at acting.”
The criticism comes after Timothée was called "boastful" for talking about his "top-of-the-line performances"
Image credits: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
"He seemed pretty serious about winning and getting acknowledged for his great acting,” Chelsea added.
"Leo wouldn't do that. Leo is a movie star. He wouldn't talk like that. That's new. I haven't heard any actor kind of talk like that."
"Speaks volumes about who he really is," one critic commented
