The 2026 Oscars just wasn’t Timothee Chalamet’s night – even with a Best Actor nomination and “Jessica Rabbit” on his arm.
The Marty Supreme star was host Conan O’Brien’s first target during his opening monologue – poking fun at the 30-year-old’s recent comments dissing the ballet and theatre.
“Security is tight tonight. I’m told there’s concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities,” the comedian joked.
The camera closed in on the actor’s reaction and while he and girlfriend Kylie Jenner (who’d said on social media she was channelling Jessica Rabbit with her tight red dress) laughed and appeared to be good sports, things were a little different when the cameras weren’t rolling.
In a behind-the-scenes clip from the prestigious award ceremony circulating online, Chalamet and Jenner can be seen sitting anxiously in their seats, exchanging a few quiet words.
An eagle-eyed lip reader who has analysed some of the most viral moments from the evening, and claims that the conversation was a rather awkward one that suggests the actor was not having a good time. You know, if his leg vigorously shaking wasn’t enough to give that away.
According to lip reader Nicola Hickling, who spoke to Daily Mail, Chalamet was telling his lady love how uncomfortable he was feeling as the spotlight was aimed directly on them in the footage shared by E! News.
Trying to disguise his thoughts through a gritted smile, the actor appears to say: “I hate this” before Jenner offers some reassurance, saying: “We’re all right, okay?”
He answers: “yeah” and Jenner ends the exchange with “I hope so.”
People on social media didn’t need the lip reader to sense something was off, though.
“He looks so uncomfortable,” one person pointed out on Instagram.
“What’s up with him. Why’s he all jittery,” another observed.
And another joked: “Ah I love when Kylie takes her kid out. He handles public events so well.”
It wasn’t the only awkward exchange from the pair that was analysed that evening.
Another moment involving the Wonka star and his sister Pauline meeting Jenner was pulled apart by the same lip reader.
During the meeting, the actor appears to tell his sister to “go easy” on his girlfriend.
According to the lip reader, Chalamet leans in to his sibling and whispers: “Could you go easy on her?”
She replies “Okay” before he repeats his request again: “I want you to go easy on her.”
Both exchanges happened before Chalamet missed out on bagging the Best Actor gong to Sinners star Michael B Jordan.
Despite walking away a winner for the same category at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards earlier this year, Chalamet’s recent controversial comments about the arts was hailed as the ultimate killer in the actor’s Academy Award campaign.