The Oscar-winning actress has a simple message for Elon Musk and other haters.

Lupita Nyong’o responds to racist criticism of her being cast as Helen of Troy in The Odyssey

The Oscar-winning actress has a simple message for Elon Musk and other haters.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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May 21, 2026 8:35 p.m. ET

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Lupita Nyong'o in 2024. Credit:

Julien M. Hekimian/Getty

- Actress Lupita Nyong'o will portray Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan's upcoming retelling of *The Odyssey*. - She has faced racist criticism from Elon Musk and others. - The Oscar-winning actress explained that "you can't perform beauty."

Lupita Nyong'o has responded to the racist criticism about her being cast in the iconic role of Helen of Troy in director Christopher Nolan's upcoming version of *The Odyssey.*

And her take is quite simple: "This is a mythological story," she said in an interview published Thursday on *Elle*.

"I'm very supportive of Chris's intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling. Our cast is representative of the world," she said. "I'm not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not."

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In just one example, Tesla co-founder Elon Musk commented on and shared opinions that Nyong'o shouldn't be part of the cast. He even claimed on social media that Nolan did it because he "wants the awards."

Musk also said the director had "lost his integrity."

Lupita Nyong'o in October.

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

The hosts of *The View* then hit back. "I don't know if you realize this," Whoopi Goldberg said, "Lupita is also considered one of the world's most beautiful women. So, I'm not sure what you're trying to say. You don't actually have to go to the movie."

In the new interview, the Oscar winner explained her philosophy on playing the character described as the most beautiful woman in Greece in the tale adapted from Homer's ancient Greek poem.

"You can't perform beauty. I want to know who a character is," Nyong'o said. "What is beyond beauty? What is beyond looks? That's the thing about doing such a well-known text, which has been studied and interpreted and derived from. The research could be endless. The good thing about working with a writer like Chris is that it's on the page. The investigation starts with the pages you're given. That's what I based it on."

'View' cohosts slam criticism of Lupita Nyong'o, Elliot Page's roles in 'The Odyssey'

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Nolan, the director of epic stories such as *Oppenheimer*, *Inception*, and *Interstellar*, has put Nyong'o in good company, with a cast that also includes Matt Damon; Anne Hathaway; Tom Holland; Zendaya; Robert Pattinson; Charlize Theron; and Elliot Page.

That wasn't lost on Nyong'o, whose own credits include *12 Years a Slave* (for which she won her Oscar), *Us*, *Black Panther*, and *Star Wars* films.

"It's quite something to be a part of *The Odyssey*, because it is so grand. It spans worlds," the actress said. "So that's why the cast is what it is. We're occupying the epic narrative of our time."

*The Odyssey* arrives in theaters July 17.

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Source: “EW Sci-Fi”