Did Timothée Chalamet's ballet comments hurt his Oscar chances?

Timothée Chalamet's recent remarks about ballet and opera generating online backlash will not affect his chances of winning an Oscar, experts say, because voting ballots closed weeks before the controversy emerged.

The 30-year-old "A Complete Unknown" star appeared in a one-on-one conversation with "Interstellar" co-star Matthew McConaughey for a Variety and CNN Town Hall discussion last week. While discussing smart and patient cinema, Chalamet jokingly remarked: "I don'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."

Though Chalamet made the comments in February, video of the exchange surfaced recently, prompting responses from opera houses across the U.S. and Europe along with criticism from ballet performers and genre enthusiasts.

Speaking to NewsNation, entertainment expert Paula Froelich explained the timing shields Chalamet from award-season consequences. "This makes no difference, because while he said that in February, the video just came out, and the ballots have been in for weeks," she said.

However, Froelich noted the controversy adds to existing industry perceptions about the actor's awards campaign. "A lot of people were really turned off by his kind of vainglorious and self-centered Oscar campaign this year. He's got a very bad rep, especially because last year, for 'A Complete Unknown,' he kept saying, 'I'm the best and the greatest.'"

Chalamet has not commented on the backlash. He stars in "A Complete Unknown" as Bob Dylan and will appear in the upcoming "Marty Supreme." The 98th Academy Awards take place March 15 in Los Angeles.