Elon Musk has been slammed after criticizing director Christopher Nolan for losing "integrity" over the reported casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy in his upcoming film The Odyssey.
Musk had shared his take on the speculation on his platform X amid backlash online toward 42-year-old Nyong'o, an Oscar winner, even though her specific role in the film has not yet been officially disclosed.
Nolan is in post-production on The Odyssey, his adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic.
Social media posts claimed the Kenyan-Mexican-American actor, who is Black, has been selected to play Helen of Troy. The reaction has split users on multiple platforms: some objected to the reported casting on supposed historical grounds, while others defended Nyong'o and Nolan, pointing to the story's mythological origins and calling the criticism misplaced.
Despite the uproar, Nyong'o's confirmed role has not yet been disclosed, and the casting reports originated from social media.
Newsweek has reached out to Nyong'o via email and Musk via Tesla for comment.
A post on X by @iterintellectus objected to the idea that Nyong'o could portray Helen, asserting: "Helen of Troy was fair skinned, blonde, and 'the face that launched a thousand ships' because she was so beautiful that men started a war over her. Casting choices that make the premise incoherent are admissions that the story was never the point and an insult to the author."
Musk, who has more than 233 million followers on the platform he owns, amplified the post by commenting: "Chris Nolan has lost his integrity."
His comment has been viewed more than 517,000 times.
Many social media users pushed back on Musk's comment and the surrounding criticism. Supporters argued that the backlash toward Nyong'o was racist and that the fixation on "historical accuracy" ignored the story's mythology.
On Threads, one user, @bp_sweany, wrote: "Christopher Nolan is getting criticized by conservative media for casting a Black woman instead of a white woman, the beautiful actress Lupita Nyong'o, as Helen of Troy in 'The Odyssey.' Just making sure we're all on the same page here. We talking about the same Helen of Troy who was born from an egg that her mother laid after being forcibly impregnated by Zeus disguised as a swan? That's who you want to be more 'historically' accurate?"
Their message has been liked more than 40,000 times.
Whoopi Goldberg also hit back at 54-year-old Musk on The View, saying that Homer never explicitly described his fictional character as being a "fair-skinned blonde." She added that Nyong'o is commonly considered one of the most attractive women in Hollywood.
The online debate has highlighted two strands of reaction: those framing Helen as a figure who must match a narrow, European ideal, and those pointing out that The Odyssey is a myth populated by gods and supernatural events, where fidelity to rigid historical markers is secondary to interpretation.
Helen of Troy was last played on the big screen by Diane Kruger in the 2004 film Troy, opposite Brad Pitt. Blonde-haired and blue-eyed Kruger, from Germany, has found herself being compared to Nyong'o in images widely shared on social media following the casting frenzy.
The upcoming film will feature an all-star ensemble, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Mia Goth, and Benny Safdie.