Elon Musk took a shot at John Leguizamo over his casting as Eumaeus in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film The Odyssey. Since the cast was announced, Musk has questioned several of Nolan’s casting choices in a series of posts on X.
On May 13, an X user shared John Leguizamo’s look from the film and wrote that the actor had previously argued that “only Latinos should be playing Latinos,” yet was now portraying a Greek character. The user asked Leguizamo to “stand by those morals.” Elon Musk reacted to the user’s post and wrote:
“What a hypocrite.”
John Leguizamo has often raised the issue of the alleged underrepresentation of Latinos in the entertainment industry. In a 2024 interview with NPR, the actor was asked about his take on seeing white actors playing Latino roles, to which he responded:
“They made me feel like I didn’t deserve to be the lead in our own stories. I was made to feel that. Now that I’m a grown man, it’s not OK. I’m enraged by it. You took an opportunity of a Latin person… We don’t have Latino executives who say, ‘Look, you’re not Latino. Why are you taking Latino roles?’…Those should be Latino roles and it should be Latinos playing them.”
On May 8, Leguizamo posted on Instagram that he plays “Eumaeus, the most loyal character in Western literature!” in The Odyssey.
Elon Musk unloads on Christopher Nolan for casting Lupita Nyong’o in ‘The Odyssey’
A recently published profile of Christopher Nolan in Time magazine revealed that Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o will play Helen of Troy in The Odyssey. In Homer’s epic poem, the character is described as “the most beautiful woman in the world.”
On May 12, conservative political commentator Matt Walsh reacted to the news and commented that “no person on the planet” thinks of Nyong’o as the most beautiful person. He remarked that Nolan cast her because he feared people would accuse him of racism if he had given the role to a white woman. Walsh called the filmmaker a “coward.” Elon Musk reacted to the post and wrote, “True.”
In another post, Matt Walsh argued that if the film were set in Africa and Sydney Sweeney had been cast in the role, there would have been “murderous violence.” The SpaceX founder agreed with the podcaster and responded:
“Absolutely true. Such hypocrisy in Hollywood.”
On Tuesday, an X user shared a screenshot outlining the Academy Awards’ diversity requirements for Best Picture eligibility. The netizen suggested that Nolan cast actors of different ethnicities for awards. Elon Musk replied to the post and wrote:
“He wants the awards.”
On May 13, Variety reported on Musk’s criticism of Christopher Nolan’s choice of cast in The Odyssey. The outlet posted its report on X, to which Elon Musk replied:
“Chris Nolan is pissing on Homer’s grave. Disgraceful.”
The xAI founder added another post and accused the filmmaker of insulting Greek people.
“And grossly insulted the Greek people. Shame on him,” Musk wrote.
Elon Musk also reposted several tweets slamming the director and other non-white cast members in The Odyssey.
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s classic features Matt Damon in the lead role, playing Odysseus. The movie will hit theaters on July 17.
Edited by Anuj Singh Kushwaha