D o you have an opinion on the state of contemporary ballet or keeping cats as pets? There are no right or wrong answers here, only differences of opinion. It is hard to imagine being upset by someone expressing an alternative view on either topic – unless, of course, they are a celebrity and you are on the internet. The celebrity outrage cycle has never been especially edifying, but lately it has become faster paced and even more stupid. Let’s return to those questions. The actors Timothée Chalamet and Jessie Buckley landed themselves in hot water in the run-up to the Oscars: him for disparaging opera and ballet , her for disliking cats (and, more specifically, pressing her now-husband to get rid of his pair). The backlash to both was so intense it seemed to jeopardise their shots at an Academy Award. Buckley backtracked, taking to a chatshow to clarify that she loved cats, actually: “Does the world think that I really don’t love cats?…