Director Luca Guadagnino defended Timothée Chalamet following his controversial comments about opera and ballet, stating that he could have spared himself. The comments were made during an interview with Italian daily La Stampa ahead of the premiere of his adaptation of John Adams' 1991 opera, The Death of Klinghoffer, in Florence. The filmmaker, whose successful age-gap romance with Chalamelen earned him his first Oscar nomination, expressed his desire to unite the arts rather than separate them. American opera singer Isabel Leonard and Canadian opera performer Deepa Johnny criticized the comments.