Everyone Who Said Lupita Nyong’o Can’t Play Helen of Troy Can Shut the F*ck Up Now

On Tuesday, Lupita Nyong’o walked the red carpet for the UK premiere of The Odyssey alongside her costars Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, and more. In the film, Nyong’o plays Helen of Troy, a figure from Greek mythology said to be the most beautiful woman in the world—a casting choice any normal person would agree is a no-brainer. (Christopher Nolan even wrote the role with her in mind.) However, you may be surprised (or not at all surprised) to learn that Elon Musk and his army of racist internet yes-men raised a big stink about the fact that a black actress was cast in the movie about the big old poem.

But given the fact that Nyong’o stunted on ‘em during Tuesday’s premiere (and always has), and that Musk is a small, ugly man (and always will be)…all those other losers can shut the fuck up.

lupita nyong’o at the uk premiere of the odyssey pic.twitter.com/v10ruSJcFE

— ˖᯽ ݁˖ pop backup ˖᯽ ݁˖ (@popbackupp) July 6, 2026

When Nyong’o’s casting was first revealed back in May, Musk took to his app to complain that Nolan had “desecrated the Odyssey” with…*clutches pearls*… DEI. Because a Black actress getting cast in a movie about Greek Mythology was enough to crash the racist operating system running in his brain! Musk then reposted a tweet from far-right Twitter goblin, Matt Walsh, who wrote, “Not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.’ But Christopher Nolan knows that he would be called racist if he gave ‘the most beautiful woman’ role to a white woman,” and Musk added, “True.” Again, they make no attempt to hide the blatant racism, which Nyong’o is then forced to respond to as an actress doing press for the film.

After Musk’s Twitter tantrum, Nyong’o graced the cover of Elle (which she also looks stunning in, but who’s surprised) and, still, addressed the racist trolls in the most graceful way possible: “This is a mythological story,” she said. “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.” Interestingly, Musk had nothing to say about Odysseus being from Boston, but I have a theory as to why…

“I’m not spending my time thinking of a defense,” Nyong’o added, “The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not.”

Anyways, here’s more of Lupita looking stunning on the red carpet and being the most beautiful woman in the world, as if she even needed to prove she was perfect for the role.

Lupita Nyong’o photographed at ‘THE ODYSSEY’ world premiere in London. 📷 pic.twitter.com/HFewtYc06x

— Film Crave (@_filmcrave) July 6, 2026

Now, the rollout of The Odyssey can commence without Nyong’o having to field questions about racist trolls, and we can instead focus on what everyone should have been talking about all along: her immense talent.

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