Timothée Chalamet wants you to know that when he spent six figures of his own money on that SNL musical performance, it wasn't a gimmick. He said so himself. Out loud. Multiple times.

Which is, of course, exactly what you'd say if it was a gimmick.

Variety reports that Chalamet opened up about the costs of his recent press tour stunts, including that elaborate Saturday Night Live performance that had everyone talking. "I spent six figures out of my pocket," he explained. "I don't want to be in the pretentious in-crowd."

Let me get this straight: you spent over $100,000 of your own money on a variety show performance to prove you're not pretentious. That's... certainly a choice.

Look, I get what Chalamet is trying to do here. In an era of phoned-in press junkets and cookie-cutter talk show appearances, he's genuinely putting in effort. He's trying to make movie promotion entertaining in its own right. That's admirable, even laudable.

But let's also acknowledge the economic reality: this is a young actor who can afford to drop six figures on a single performance because he's been in enough blockbusters to make that pocket change. It's a flex disguised as authenticity. It's expensive authenticity.

The broader point here is about movie marketing in 2026. Studios used to pay for elaborate press tours and promotional stunts. Now they're cutting those budgets, and stars with the means are financing their own spectacles to keep buzz alive. Chalamet isn't unique in this - he's just more honest about it.

And honestly? I'd rather have actors who care enough to invest their own money in creating memorable moments than the alternative - bland, forgettable junket appearances where everyone pretends to be excited about a movie they barely remember shooting.

So yes, Timothée, it's a bit of a gimmick. But it's a good gimmick. And in Hollywood, where nobody knows anything except me, occasionally, I'll take a good gimmick over cynical indifference any day.

Just maybe don't spend quite so much time insisting it's not a gimmick. That's when it starts to feel like one.