Elon Musk Lists a Bunch of White Men Playing Real Men of Color to Highlight a “Double Standard” Forgetting Helen of Troy Isn’t Real

Elon Musk keeps tweeting dumb stuff about Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. We’re now in multiple weeks of this nonsense.

A lot of right wing accounts blew a gasket because Lupita Nyong’o was cast as Helen of Troy in the new film. There has been a surprisingly level-headed discourse cycle about the choice. Most people on social media are rightfully pointing out Helen of Troy is a myth-based figure anyway.

But, you’ve got a ton of bad actors acting like this is a role that has been “taken” by a Black actress. It’s exhausting stuff. Especially, when you’ve got Musk and those like him just dumping fire on the entire ordeal from their algorithmically boosted perches.

Musk quote-tweeted an account pitching “white men as famous Black people.” The tech executive said it was a “glaringly obvious double-standard.” That sound I’m feeling is Kendrick Lamar screaming in the Bugs Bunny clip.

It’s just racism in the strictest terms. But, with literally only a few clips out there from the movie, we have no idea what Nolan has planned. It feels like bad actors just gripping onto whatever advantage they can find? And honestly, that’s basically all this corner of social media is good for these days anyway.

Elon Musk is still mad about The Odyssey

Now, you had to know that Musk wouldn’t be alone. Notorious grifter Matt Walsh was one of the biggest names to hop on the “discourse” after THR revealed Nyong’o’s casting. The Daily Wire lead man just basically let the racism fly when posting to social media.

“Not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world,’” Walsh began. “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.”  

A lot of commenters quickly called out the racist undertones of the argument. Different magazines and the social media platforms they were using agree that the Us actress is stunning. Over on Instagram, Alec Baldwin issued a quick correction for the SpaceX figurehead.

People have lost the plot

Hysterically, Walsh brought Sydney Sweeney into it when he was criticized for his take. And, his false equivalency was so funny. Also, with how dominant culture has been moving, people have been saying crap like this for a while now.

“We’re told that we shouldn’t object to Helen of Troy being portrayed as a black woman,” Walsh pouted. “And yet if a major Hollywood studio made a film set in Africa and cast a white woman as ‘the most beautiful woman in Africa,’ those same people would literally riot in the street. If, say, Sydney Sweeney was cast in the role, they’d be driven to murderous violence. We all know this is the case.” 

(featured image: Universal Pictures)

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