Elon Musk went after Christopher Nolan hard on X this week. The Tesla CEO said the legendary director “lost his integrity” over casting choices in The Odyssey.
The drama started when Musk saw Oscar-winning Lupita Nyong’o cast as Helen of Troy. Travis Scott also makes his acting debut in the film. The rapper’s first movie role was revealed in new footage that dropped during NFL coverage.
Musk jumped on a user’s post complaining about the casting. The user argued Helen of Troy should be played by a fair-skinned, blonde actress.
Musk co-signed with his “Chris Nolan has lost his integrity” comment.
But here’s where Musk’s outrage gets interesting. Hollywood has a long history of casting white actors as characters who should be Black or brown.
And Musk never seemed bothered by that pattern, especially as Fox prepares to release “The Faithfull,” which is filled with white folks playing biblical characters.
Take Exodus: Gods and Kings. Christian Bale played Moses, a Middle Eastern figure. Angelina Jolie wore darker makeup to play Afro-Cuban journalist Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart.
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
— vittorio (@IterIntellectus) January 31, 2026
casting choices that make the premise incoherent are admissions that the story was never the point and an insult to the author https://t.co/6Nmnur96ID
The list goes on and on. Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia. Emma Stone as part-Asian Allison Ng in Aloha. Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell, playing a Japanese character.
Hollywood turned Egyptian queen Cleopatra into Elizabeth Taylor. They made Chinese farmers into Paul Muni and Luise Rainer in The Good Earth. Mickey Rooney wore yellowface as Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Johnny Depp as Tonto. Laurence Olivier in blackface as Othello.
Where is Musk’s integrity speech over these movies? His silence on decades of whitewashing speaks volumes. But when one Black actress is cast as a mythological character, suddenly he’s the casting police.
The Odyssey isn’t even based on real people. It’s Homer’s ancient Greek myth about gods and monsters. There’s no historical Helen of Troy to get “wrong.”
Nolan can cast whoever brings the story to life. Travis Scott’s involvement adds another layer to this mess. The Houston rapper appears in battle scenes, according to early footage. His casting shows Nolan thinking outside traditional Hollywood boxes.
The film features Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway and Charlize Theron. Universal Pictures is backing the summer 2026 release.
Musk’s double standard reveals something ugly about his worldview. He stays quiet when white actors take roles from people of color. But he attacks a director’s “integrity” when the reverse happens.
Loading ... 