Charlize Theron Says She Was Talking 'Out Of Her A**' After Facing Backlash Over AI Comments

The Oscar winner inadvertently ruffled feathers while hitting back at comments made by fellow actor Timothée Chalamet.

Charlize Theron has backtracked after comments she made about AI while addressing the recent controversy surrounding Timothée Chalamet.

Last week, the Oscar winner weighed in on Timothée’s infamous quip that “no one cares” about the artforms of opera or ballet anymore, branding his remarks “very reckless” and joking: “Oh boy, I hope I run into him one day.”

However, she went on to raise eyebrows when she claimed: “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. And we shouldn’t shit on other art forms.”

Perhaps understandably, Charlize’s clumsy wording about the contentious topic of AI didn’t go down all too well among critics on social media, which the Atomic Blonde star has now addressed.

“Honey, I talked out of my ass,” she conceded to Variety at the premiere of her new movie Apex. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in 10 years, okay? Nobody does. Nobody knows what’s going to happen in 10 years.”

Charlize went on to say: “But I assume that a living, live performance would be hard [to replicate with AI]. And then someone’s like, ‘There’s a dancing robot in Hong Kong’. But he’s not Misty Copeland, OK?”

She added: “I think we’re all just taking it day by day, and I got to make this movie, and it’s not AI, it’s me, so things are good.”

#CharlizeTheron says she was “talking out of my ass” after predicting AI “will be able to do the job” of actors like Timothée Chalamet in 10 years:“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,… pic.twitter.com/RIo0h0Zh4z— Variety (@Variety) April 23, 2026

#CharlizeTheron says she was “talking out of my ass” after predicting AI “will be able to do the job” of actors like Timothée Chalamet in 10 years:“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,… pic.twitter.com/RIo0h0Zh4z

The rise of generative artificial intelligence continues to be an increasingly polarising topic in the entertainment industry, with the issue forming a major part of what led to the Hollywood strikes of 2023.

After the SAG-AFTRA strike came to an end, actors did gain some legal protections on the matter, including against their likenesses being recreated on screen with the use of AI after their deaths.

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