Lupita Nyong'o at The Odyssey premiere
News Film Lupita Nyong'o The Odyssey

The Odyssey’s Lupita Nyong’o faces fresh wave of racist backlash after Homer comment

The actress previously addressed the hate

Daisy Phillipson
6th July 2026, 17:18
Add as preferred source on Google
Add as preferred source on Google

Lupita Nyong’o had already faced a torrent of hate simply for being cast as Helen of Troy and her sister, Clytemnestra, in The Odyssey – even Elon Musk chimed in. Now, she’s facing a fresh wave of racist comments over a short clip of her discussing Homer. 

Christopher Nolan’s next epic is mere days away, and while there’s plenty of hype, a number of cast members have been the subject of prejudice simply for existing. 

There’s been much transphobic discourse after fake news emerged that Elliot Page is playing Achilles (he’s actually playing Sinon, not that it’s justified either way). 

Nyong’o, meanwhile, has had to deal with racism online, including an AI-generated video of her that incorporates shocking stereotypes. Elon Musk, aka the richest man on the planet, also started amplifying hate comments on X. 

This week, Musk replied to a post about the trailer’s dislikes, writing, “Chris Nolan desecrated Homer and groveled on his knees just to meet the woke rules required to win an Oscar. What a worm.”

The latest controversy centres on a short junket interview in which she discusses what she’d say to Homer. 

“I’d be like, ‘So Homer, how do you feel about the screen time given to these women considering how little you spent with them?’”

In a separate conversation with DC Film Girl, interviewer Lauren Veneziani asked how her role in The Odyssey stacked up with the other resilient women she’s played in the past. 

Nyong’o replied, “What Chris is interested in this film is investigating the cost of war. And when you read the Iliad and the Odyssey, very little time is spent in the perspective of the women.

“It’s told from a very masculine side of things. But this film takes time to really consider things from the female perspective. And so we see in Helen and Clytemnestra how this war has affected them both. 

“They respond to it very differently because their experience of it is very different. And so for me that was very enriching to take the time to humanise them and consider what this time could have looked like for them.”

Despite being innocuous and thoughtful responses to her character in the film, her answers have been clipped up and shared across X, where Nyong’o is facing backlash from all corners. 

The discourse is reminiscent of the situation involving Rachel Zegler, who faced a wave of hate over an old comment about Snow White. 

People have been perpetuating the false claim about winning awards while discussing her race and appearance.

One suggested “you are not eligible to an Oscar unless you have a Black woman commanding a viking expedition nowadays.”

Another said, “Is there anything more insufferable than a Black activist’s smugness,” and a third commented, “The fact someone that looks like that is being portrayed in the role of someone that was meant to be beautiful is hilarious.” 

There are even worse comments than these that we won’t publish. 

Nyong’o herself addressed the racist backlash she received as a result of her casting prior to this latest incident. 

“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,” she told Elle. 

“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.”

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page.

Featured image credit: David Fisher/Shutterstock