Elon Musk was criticized on The View after his social media reaction to a reported casting choice in Christopher Nolan‘s upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey. The discussion escalated on the daytime talk show, with co-host Sunny Hostin directly calling Musk a racist while addressing his past online statements.
Sunny Hostin calls out Elon Musk after his post
The calling out began after Elon Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) that director Christopher Nolan had “lost his integrity.” The comment was in response to reports that Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o was being considered to play Helen of Troy in The Odyssey, a character Homer described as fair-skinned.
On the February 3 episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg responded to Musk’s post, pushing back against the implication behind his criticism. Goldberg said, “I don’t know if you realize this, but Lupita is also considered one of the world’s most beautiful women, so I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.” She added that he isn’t obligated to see the film.
Sunny Hostin then addressed the Elon Musk issue directly, noting that The Odyssey is a work of fiction. Hostin said that fictional characters can be played by anyone and argued that beauty does not have a single standard. She said, “There is no standard of beauty. It doesn’t have to be a white person that plays this part.”
Hostin then referenced Musk’s previous online statements. She said he “has trafficked in white supremacy on the internet, on social media, on X for quite some time.” She cited earlier controversies involving him before concluding, “He is a white supremacist. In my view, he is a racist. And I think we call a thing a thing.”
The conversation briefly touched on the historical accuracy of other ancient stories before Goldberg concluded. “Elon, you really just don’t for this. This, when it comes to artistic stuff, go sit down, please.”
