Timothée Chalamet Jokes He Feared For His Life During A Ride With Kendrick Lamar
Timothée Chalamet jokes a short ride with Kendrick Lamar had him picturing headlines about being murdered—and the wild Wikipedia ending that would make—as he revisits their encounter amid Lamar’s feud with Drake.
Timothee Chalamet told a very Timothee Chalamet story about hanging out with Kendrick Lamar: mid-ride, he genuinely pictured the headlines if things went sideways. Not the usual thought you have next to a Pulitzer winner, but here we are.
The Kendrick ride-along, as Timothee tells it
On the 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony podcast, Chalamet revisited the Apple Music interview he did with Kendrick right before the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. Yes, that means he sat down with Kendrick while the Drake war was still white-hot. Searchlight even posted a clip on February 9, 2025, tying it to Chalamet playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown and quoting him saying it felt like he was 'holding a legacy in my hands.'
'Wow, he's in the middle of this beef. Could you imagine if this is how I go out? Actor Timothee Chalamet murdered. That would be a crazy end to my Wikipedia page.'
Beyond the dark joke, he was clearly impressed by how calm Kendrick was in the middle of it all. Chalamet called it a 'gladiator sport' and admitted it is not a lane he could handle. In his words, seeing someone 'that big at war with somebody that big' while moving through life like normal was 'unfathomable.' He added that he grew up listening to Kendrick and appreciated him. For context, Chalamet is 29, an Oscar-nominated actor you know from Dune and, yes, the mysteriously titled Marty Supreme he has coming up.
Why that timing mattered
Chalamet was reacting to the moment he found himself in: riding with Kendrick during the most volatile stretch of a long-simmering rivalry. If the timeline felt confusing when it was happening, here is the quick refresher:
- March 2024: On Future and Metro Boomin's 'Like That,' Kendrick brushed off J. Cole's 'Big Three' line (Cole, Drake, Kendrick), which detonated a full Drake vs. Kendrick clash. Both dropped blistering diss tracks loaded with heavy accusations.
- January 2025: Drake sued Universal Music Group, Lamar's record partner, over Kendrick's track 'Not Like Us,' alleging defamation.
- October 2025: A federal court tossed Drake's case.
- Meanwhile: 'Not Like Us' cleaned up at the Grammys, netting Kendrick five awards.
So, picture Chalamet in a car with Kendrick right in the middle of that. A little surreal, a little morbidly funny, and very on brand for a guy who can go from Bob Dylan prep to imagining his own tabloid headline in the span of a car ride.