Elon Musk has once again weighed in on Christopher Nolan’s upcoming big-budget adaptation Odysseythis time agreeing with a racist comment made by a far-right journalist who criticized the casting of Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o in the role of Helen of Troy.
Nolan’s epic follow-up to his Oscar-winning juggernaut Oppenheimer It is scheduled for a wide release in July. In the lead-up, the film received significant media coverage while remaining shrouded in mystery. Cover story in time This week’s magazine revealed that Nyong’o has already been cast to play Helen of Troy – described in Homer’s classic as the most beautiful woman in the world and “the face that launched a thousand ships” in war. The film also stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, and Zendaya as Athena.
On Tuesday, conservative political commentator W Daily Wire Host Matt Walsh took issue with the casting of X. His post included a screenshot of Hollywood ReporterTuesday’s report on Nyong’o’s roles in OdysseyIt quickly caught the attention of the platform owner.
“There is not a single person on the planet who actually believes that Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.’ “But Christopher Nolan knows he would be called a racist if he gave the role of ‘most beautiful woman’ to a white woman,” Walsh wrote. “Nolan is artistically gifted but a coward. He is very afraid to do anything that challenges the spirit of the times even slightly. “
“Correct,” Musk quickly responded.
Walsh returned to the topic on Wednesday, arguing that the role should have gone to a white actor, even the floating Sidney Sweeney, who has become a lightning rod around the race debate, for example.
“We are told that we should not object to the portrayal of Helen of Troy as a black woman,” Walsh wrote. “Yet if a major Hollywood studio made a movie set in Africa, and cast a white woman as ‘the most beautiful woman in Africa,’ those same people would riot in the street. If Sidney Sweeney, for example, were cast in that role, they would be driven to murderous violence. We all know this to be the case.”
Musk also weighed in via the comments section of Walsh’s post on Wednesday, writing, “This is absolutely true. Such hypocrisy in Hollywood.”
This wasn’t the Tesla and SpaceX founder’s first public reaction to the upcoming film. When rumors surfaced that trans actor Elliot Page might be cast as Achilles, Musk reacted more forcefully.
“One of the stupidest, most convoluted things I’ve ever heard,” Musk wrote in response to a post by UnHerd. It should be noted that Musk has a transgender daughter from his first marriage: Vivienne Gina Wilson, who changed her name and broke off ties with her father when she was 18, and has since quarreled publicly with him online.
Musk’s commentary on the film dates back to January, when rumors of Nyong’o’s casting first began circulating. He commented on what he described as a bold choice by Nolan – one of the rare directors who has consistently managed to balance artistic ambition with global box office success, with films such as beginning, Dark Knight and Dunkirk.
“Chris Nolan has lost his integrity,” Musk declared at the time.
Nyong’o, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, burst onto the scene in Steve McQueen’s Best Picture-winning 2013 film. 12 years of slaveryFor which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Since then, she has built a distinguished career, including a double role in the Jordan Peele film weappears in the role of Nakia via Black Panther and Avengers Movies, and a major role in them A Quiet Place: Day One As a terminally ill woman who survived an alien invasion.
THR I reached out to representatives for Musk and Nyong’o for comment on the posts on Wednesday evening. A Nolan rep referred the inquiry to a Universal Entertainment rep, who declined to comment on Musk’s statements about the film; The actor was also unable to confirm Page’s role. Nyong’o’s representatives did not respond THRinquiries.
As for Walsh, the critic who directed documentaries What is a woman? and Am I racist?he tried to shut down responses calling his post racist with a post letting his critics know he doesn’t care about their opinion.
“It’s funny that these people think they’re still achieving something with the ‘this is actually racist’ routine,” he wrote. “We don’t care if you think something is racist. The word has no meaning to you.”
