- - Chelsea Handler calls out Timothée Chalamet's controversial “Marty Supreme” press run: 'Leo wouldn't say that'

Mekishana PierreJanuary 13, 2026 at 5:30 PM

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Rick Kern/Getty; JC Olivera/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty

Chelsea Handler; Timothée Chalamet

Chelsea Handler has not been impressed by Timothée Chalamet's press run to promote Josh Safdie's ping-pong film, Marty Supreme.

During an appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Handler wholeheartedly agreed when host Amanda Hirsch asked if the actor was taking the promotion for the film "too seriously."

"He seemed pretty serious about winning and getting acknowledged for his great acting," she noted.

Although Handler said she believes that Chalamet is "a great actor," she lamented that his tone skewed his message. "It's hard to hear someone talk about how great they are at acting," she added.

JC Olivera/Getty

Timothée Chalamet at the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards

The 30-year-old has been making headlines for various stunts he's pulled and eyebrow raising quotes he's given while raising awareness for the film. Last month, Chalamet made history by becoming the first person to appear on top of the Sphere in Las Vegas as the dome-shaped exosphere was transformed into a giant ping-pong ball. Before that, he visited The Tonight Show for an interview with host Jimmy Fallon while surrounded by a group of silent men wearing black body suits and orange ping-pong ball masks over their heads.

But it's Chalamet's interviews that have been especially controversial with fans and critics alike. In one interview that divided fans on social media, Chalamet told a reporter that Marty Supreme marked his best acting role yet after he gave "top-of-the-line performances" over the last "seven, eight years."

He added: "I don't want people to take it for granted. I don't want to take it for granted. This is really some top-level s---."

A24

Timothée Chalament in 'Marty Supreme'

Despite receiving flack for what some deemed was entitlement, Chalamet also told IndieWire that his press tour is all in keeping in line with the energy of Marty Supreme.

"This is in the spirit of Marty, and I feel like this is ultimately an original film at a time when original movies aren't really put out," Chalamet said when asked about the press tour. "It's a movie about the pursuit of a dream. I'm leaving it on the field. Whether it's the merch or the Zoom or the media appearances, I'm trying to get this out in the biggest way possible. In the spirit of Marty Mauser."

Chalamet has lost two Oscars, four Golden Globes and four BAFTA Awards, although he did take home the SAG Award for best actor in February thanks to his performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

In a Vogue cover story published in November 2025, the actor opened up about being disappointed when he lost at the Oscars, saying, "If there's five people at an awards show, and four people go home losing, you don't think those four people are at the restaurant like, 'Damn, we didn't win?' I've been around some deeply generous, no-ego actors, and maybe some of them are going, 'That was fun.' But I know for a fact a lot of them are going, 'F---!'"

"People can call me a try-hard, and they can say whatever the fuck," Chalamet added. "But I'm the one actually doing it here."

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Both Handler and Hirsch compared Chalamet to Leonardo DiCaprio, whom the latter dubbed her "gold star" when it comes to acting like a "real movie star" in Hollywood.

"Leo wouldn't say that," Hirsch asserted. "Even though it took him so long to win, right? He didn't win anything until that wrestling with the bear movie [The Revenant]."

Handler agreed, saying, "Leo wouldn't do that. Leo is a movie star. He wouldn't talk like that. That's new. I haven't heard any actor kind of talk like that."

Directed, produced, and co-written by Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme follows the life and career of up-and-coming table tennis star Marty Mauser (Chalamet) as he fights to become the best of the best. The sports drama also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Fran Drescher, and more.

Since award season kicked off, Chalamet has secured a Critics Choice Award for Best Actor and a Golden Globes Award for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy. He's currently considered a front-runner for a Best Actor nod at the upcoming Oscars.

Brianna Bryson/Getty

Timothée Chalamet at the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards

Watch Handler discuss Chalamet's press run for Marty Supreme above.

on Entertainment Weekly

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