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Timothée Chalamet has been on what many people have referred to as a “generational run” in recent years, and the vibes have remained pretty immaculate as he’s been front and center as the Knicks close in on an NBA championship. However, he found himself dealing with plenty of backlash after dropping some ads for a prediction market on the eve of a potentially title-clinching game.
It’s been close to a decade since Timothée Chalamet burst onto the scene, as 2017 was a big year for a man who had a supporting role in Lady Bird and earned his first Academy Award nomination for Call Me By Your Name.
He cemented himself as one of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars when he was cast as Paul Atreides in the Dune franchise, and he was once again nominated for Best Actor for his performance in 2025’s Marty Supreme.
He rubbed some people the wrong way during a press tour for that second film where he walked a very fine line between cocky and confident, but they were in the minority compared to the number of stans he’s managed to gain goodwill with by coming off as a pretty relatable dude in spite of his fame and fortune.
He’s cemented that reputation as one of the high-profile superfans who’ve been courtside staples as the Knicks made a run to their first NBA title since 1973. However, he committed a bit of an unforced error right before Game 5.
Timothée Chalamet did not get the reception he was hoping for by plugging Kalshi
Most sports fans were already sick and tired of the ads for the sportbooks that have become impossible to avoid thanks to the rise of legal gambling, and over the past couple of years, we’ve been treated to a new type of way to make (and lose) money thanks to the so-called “prediction markets” that have also entered the space.
That includes Kalshi, which has made multiple attempts to capitalize on the attention the Knicks have received during their playoff run with a bootleg version of Sidetalk, a robot dressed in a Carmelo Anthony jersey known as the “BingBot,” and other NBA Finals-related publicity stunts.
On Thursday, Chalamet became the latest person to join forces with Kalshi when he shared three ads he filmed for the prediction market on social media.
KALSHI pic.twitter.com/ZV05cnhVV4
— Timothée Chalamet (@RealChalamet) June 11, 2026
However, they did not land with fans who littered his comments with GIFs of Obi-Wan Kenobi telling Anakin Skywalker, “You were the chosen one!” and comments like “Ruining a multi year generational run for Kalshi is crazy,” others asking if he’s somehow managed to run out of money, and my personal favorite: one that simply reads, “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.”
The Knicks will have the chance to close out their series with the Spurs on Friday night, but if they end up collapsing, it seems safe to assume plenty of people will blame those ads for putting some bad energy out into the universe.