Charlize Theron has walked back her earlier comment about AI potentially replacing Timothée Chalamet in the future. In a new interview, the actress said she was “talking out of [her] ass” and does not know what will happen in a decade. She previously made the remark while responding to Chalamet’s comments about ballet and opera, which drew attention across the industry.

Charlize Theron had earlier reacted to Timothée Chalamet’s remarks about ballet and opera by suggesting that AI could potentially take the Marty Supreme actor’s job in 10 years.

“Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day. That was a very reckless comment on an art form, two art forms, that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time,” Theron said about Chalamet’s comments to The New York Times, “In 10 years, AI is going to be able to do Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live.”

However, Theron has since clarified her statement, saying she does not know what the future holds for actors and that her earlier remark may have been speculative.

“Honestly, I talked out of my ass. I don’t know what’s going to happen in ten years, okay? Nobody does. But I assume that a living, live performance would be hard [to replicate]. And then someone’s like, ‘There’s a dancing robot in Hong Kong’ — but he’s not Misty Copeland,” Theron told Variety ahead of her new film Apex, which releases on Netflix on April 24, 2026.

Timothée Chalamet had previously said that interest in ballet and opera has declined, which led to a broader discussion within the industry.