Doja Cat Admits She Piled On Chalamet For Clicks, Says She Was ‘Virtue Signaling’

Actor Timothée Chalamet sparked backlash after saying “no one cares” about opera and ballet, comments that quickly drew criticism from artists and cultural figures. But one singer admitted that she joined the pile-on for a different reason: “virtue signaling.”

Recording artist Doja Cat acknowledged that her criticism came not out of personal conviction, but because she wanted to participate in online outrage, revealing that she has never even attended an opera or ballet performance.

“I took it upon myself yesterday to kind of give it to the man because there is a culture based around outrage and things like that, and people want to feel like they’re part of something,” the 30-year-old singer shared in a TikTok video. “It’s a need to connect, whether good or bad.” 

@dojacat♬ original sound – Doja Cat

“What I was doing…was virtue signaling because I wanted to connect and I knew that Timothée’s goof up was something that I could leverage in order for people to connect with me and f*** with me,” Doja Cat went on. 

“And it’s easy. It’s a modern way to garner clicks, likes, approval and all kinds of things like that from people. And so I did that yesterday, and I didn’t really think about why I was doing it… I don’t know anything about opera. I don’t know anything about ballet, and I’ve never been to either shows.”

That message was shared after Doja Cat’s original, since-deleted TikTok told Chalamet to “sit the f*** down and shut the f*** up” and insisted that “people give a f***” about opera and ballet.

The controversy began after a clip from Chalamet’s conversation with Matthew McConaughey during a CNN & Variety town hall event went viral. The “Marty Supreme” actor was blasted for saying “no one cares” about the two art forms. 

Ballet dancer Misty Copeland claimed Chalamet wouldn’t have his acting career if opera and ballet didn’t exist. Legendary opera singer Andrea Bocelli said Chalamet’s comments “surprised” him and invited the actor to attend one of his performances. 

Many social media users are now saying the outrage cycle has dragged on too long. Chalamet has not issued a public apology or clarified any of his comments. So far, Doja Cat appears to be the only celebrity who has admitted that she was only coming down hard on the actor to get clicks.