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Timothée Chalamet receives backlash for ‘soulless’ endorsement of controversial brand

This is not a good look

Oreoluwa Adeyoola
12th June 2026, 12:57
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Actor Timothée Chalamet has faced backlash for his endorsement of the “forecasting market” Kalshi, with fans calling him a “sell-out”.

The past six months have been a PR rollercoaster for Oscar-nominated actor Timothée. The 30-year-old made headlines when he said audiences aren’t interested in arts like ballet and opera, which many credit as the moment he fell from grace. Not long after, he lost Best Actor for Marty Supreme to the talented Michael B Jordan, who played Smoke and Stack in Sinners.

In the past few months, he’s started to regain public favour with his public support of the New York Knicks basketball team. But yesterday, the actor shared an ad across his social media platforms for the controversial company, Kalshi.

“You are a rich and famous actor; why are you promoting trash?” one person in the replies said.

“Speak out against Trump, the war in Iran, ICE, or the genocide in Gaza? Nah. Promote a disgusting betting platform? SURE!” another person added.

Even his supporters are sharing their disappointment, reminding the actor of his “One of the Greats” speech at the SAGA awards last year.

“Why did you do this, man? I thought you wanted to be the best,” one supporter added.

 

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A post shared by Timothée Chalamet (@tchalamet)

Kalshi is an incredibly controversial market prediction company that has received backlash for its morally dubious “bets,” such as wagers reliant on politics and international affairs. By labelling themselves as a prediction market rather than a gambling company, they can skirt the much tighter regulations that betting companies face.

In conversation with Sam Primack for Axios, Kalshi co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara defended their platform.

“What do we mean when you say gambling? So some people are actually referring to speculation. You know we’ve been hearing a lot of this argument, like you know it’s quack like a duck, and people are talking about ducks these days, but the law is not ducks, right? You know, the way that we should make decisions is not based on ducks.”

Timothée hasn’t responded to the backlash, and the advert is still up on all his social media profiles.

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