Elon Musk is facing accusations of racism after he publicly agreed with a right‑wing commentator who claimed that Oscar‑winning actor Lupita Nyong'o was unfit to play Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan's forthcoming film The Odyssey, in a row that erupted on X, the social media platform Musk owns, this week.
Nolan recently confirmed that Nyong'o will take on dual roles as Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra in his adaptation of Homer's epic poem, due for release in July. The casting immediately drew attention because Helen is described in Greek mythology as the most beautiful woman in the world. That familiar phrase was quickly weaponised online. Far‑right accounts and culture‑war pundits flooded X with complaints that a Black woman had been chosen for the part, folding race, beauty standards and Hollywood politics into a single, predictable outrage cycle.
