Lupita Nyong’o Claps Back at Racists Who Are Mad at Her Role in ‘The Odyssey’
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer, but it’s already receiving some racist backlash and criticism thanks to Lupita Nyong’o’s casting. And now, the Oscar-winning actress is speaking out about it.
As we previously told you, earlier this month, Nolan confirmed that Nyong’o would be portraying the iconic Helen of Troy, known as the most beautiful woman in the world. Almost immediately, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and others, like right-wing commentator Matt Walsh, spoke out against the decision.
“Chris Nolan has lost his integrity,” Musk wrote in a post to X/Twitter.
“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. Nolan is technically talented but a coward. Too afraid to do anything that even slightly challenges the spirit of the age,” said Walsh in a separate post.
Now, it appears all the negative chatter has found its way back to Nyong’o as she recently took the time to address it in a new interview with Elle, where she pushed back on the criticism. Nyong’o noted that the story is, in fact, mythological and fictional and that Nolan’s choices and direction of the story he’s telling are “representative of the world.”
“This is a mythological story. I’m very supportive of Chris’ intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling. Our cast is representative of the world. I’m not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not,” Nyong’o said.
When it comes to the claims that she specifically shouldn’t be the representation of “the most beautiful woman in the world,” the “Quiet Place” star delved a little deeper.
“You can’t perform beauty. I want to know who a character is. What is beyond beauty? What is beyond looks?” she explained. “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.”
