TOWN HALL FOR DUMMIES

Oh yeah, these guys' opinions are
definitely worth my time.

 At a time when cultural, political, and religious divisions are driving us further
apart, it's good to know that there's something, anything, that has brought many Americans together. It's just a damn shame it's so stupid.

During a "town hall" event sponsored by CNN and Variety, Timothée Chalamet told host Matthew McConaughey, "I don't want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it's like, 'Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.' All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there."

Yes, I know what it means.

Before continuing, let's take a brief detour. First, "town hall" event used to refer to political candidates offering their views on current events and taking questions from interested voters, not actors campaigning for Oscars the way seriously ill people look for kidney donors. 

Nor were they co-sponsored by showbiz periodicals known for wacky headlines. Nor were the hosts acclaimed for saying, "Alright, alright, alright!" And what's the deal with "Timothy" spelled like a 17th-century French aristocrat, complete with the accent acute? 

Let's get back to the controversy that followed. Yes, CONTROVERSY. An offhand comment made by a 30-year-old actor who looks 14 and is currently dating Kardashian stepsister caused the kind of reaction one usually sees only when the Vice-President of the United States endorses racist, antisemitic, and sexist jokes.

OK, I can understand opera and ballet companies getting into the mix. But somehow this anger has spread throughout the country, the world, even as said world is literally going up in flames.

America's most trusted news source.

Yesterday, the yentas on The View decided it was time to gin up some publicity three weeks after the rickety train left the station. And while I didn't watch it -- I was busy doing something more important, like watching snow melt -- I'm certain The View audience clapped like the Central Park Zoo seals waiting for mackerel from their keepers. 

How many operas and ballets have The View hosts attended? How many can their audience members even name? View host Sunny Hostin says Chalamet is vapid and shallow for his opinion. Yet she's a lawyer whose side hustle is appearing on a series that could be considered Meet the Press for day drinking housewives.

Now I'm all for distracting oneself from the constant flow of bad news with anything that doesn't lead to DUIs or mass shootings. (I suggest pre-code pictures, but you knew that already.) But this? An opinion by a guy who proves the old cliche that actors need a script before opening their mouths? 

Hey, I thought everybody loved the opera!

An opinion, by the way, is more accurate than people realize, according to this recent piece
from the New York Times. If the hosts of The View really care about opera so much, they ought to pony up some of their money for the next performance of Pagliacci. It's about a clown, so they could relate.

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