Tina Fey Says Timothée Was ‘Nothing But Lovely’ — Even If the Manspreading Was Real

Tina Fey has seen the memes. She is fine with them. And she wants everyone to know that Timothée Chalamet was perfectly nice.

On Wednesday’s episode of Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, the Saturday Night Live alum addressed the moment that consumed NBA social media for a week last month: a clip of Chalamet appearing to spread into Fey’s seat during the New York Knicks’ Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks in April.

“I got [sent] so many memes,” Fey said, sounding amused rather than annoyed. “I should start by saying that Timothée Chalamet was nothing but lovely, super friendly, and it wasn’t until the next day that I saw all of these manspreading things.”

She was quick to add some self-awareness. “You gotta remember,” she continued, “for every amount that he’s sitting like this and manspreading, I’m doing the same.” The crowd laughed. The case was closed.

Chalamet attended the game with girlfriend Kylie Jenner. Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor were also in the celebrity section that night, which meant the courtside cameras had a lot of material to work with. What the cameras caught — Chalamet’s posture relative to Fey’s space — was enough to turn into a full news cycle, which is the particular madness of NBA playoffs celebrity content.

The Cleveland Chapter

By the time the Knicks made it to Cleveland for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers organization had clearly been paying attention. They preemptively moved Chalamet and Jenner to the second row, placing a barrier of Cavs fans between the celebrity couple and the courtside seats. Rapper Fat Joe — a Knicks fan — was also in attendance and found himself similarly repositioned away from the action.

Whether the Cavs were trying to protect their home crowd’s energy from the distraction of Chalamet’s presence, or simply preventing a repeat of the Madison Square Garden circus, the move made its own headlines. The Knicks, for their part, tend to treat their famous fans as a feature rather than a bug.

Fey’s appearance on New Heights was the official end to the story — she got the memes, she laughed at them, and she confirmed there’s no bad blood. Chalamet, who has been at basically every significant Knicks game this postseason with Jenner courtside, probably appreciates the clean exit.