Emmy-winner Alec Baldwin weighed in on MAGA’s anti “woke” campaign against Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which has found its central voice in centibillionaire X owner Elon Musk.
Musk has led a conservative onslaught against the Oscar-winning director, targeting his supposedly “racist” casting of Lupita Nyong’o, who he claims shouldn’t play “the most beautiful woman in the world,” Helen of Troy, as depicted in the Greek epic.
Baldwin, 68, joined the discourse to slam Elon on Friday, writing in a post to Instagram, “Dear Elon… but she IS the most beautiful woman in the world…Alec.” Baldwin’s post included a photo of Nyong’o, 43. His wife, Hilaria, seemed to agree with the sentiment, commenting with fire and heart emojis.
The actor’s comments come after Musk was called out on The View in January for remarks about the casting, which at the time was only a rumor. “Anyone can portray a fictional character,” co-host Sunny Hostin said. “It doesn’t have to be a white person that plays this part.”
She added, “I think we have to call a thing a thing when we’re talking about someone like Elon Musk… We know what this is. He is a white supremacist. In my view, he is a racist.”
Though Nyong’o did not appear in either of the film’s two trailers, Nolan, 55, confirmed the casting in an interview with Time magazine on Tuesday.
Nyong’o, who will also play Helen’s sister Clytemnestra, was named People magazine’s “Most Beautiful Woman” in 2014 following her triumphant Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for 12 Years a Slave—but according to Musk and MAGA, casting the Kenyan actress is “historically inaccurate.”
There is no evidence that any of The Odyssey’s characters, as described in the original epic written by Homer, actually existed.
Still, also peeved about the rumored casting of trans actor Elliot Page as the epic’s Achilles, Musk, 54, has continued targeting the film, picking up where he left off in January, when Nyong’o’s casting was still unconfirmed.
He’s promoted more than two dozen X posts criticizing the film, including at least 15 on Friday alone. He’s been accused of altering the X algorithm to boost his posts.
After more of MAGA joined his cause, Musk set his sights on a new target: former Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences President David Rubin. Rubin, who was president from 2019–2022, oversaw the implementation of the Academy Awards’ Representation and Inclusion Standards, which, if not met, can deem a film ineligible for Best Picture.
“F--- YOU, Rubin, you f---ing douchbag![sic]” Musk wrote in a post on Friday. “Give Rubin a loud boo next time you see him.”
Musk and those he reposts blame the Nyong’o’s casting on Nolan’s compliance with the Academy’s “DEI lies.”
Just two years ago, however, Nolan won his first two Oscars for Oppenheimer, which featured an entirely white cast. (The film met the Academy’s requirements through its production staff).
The MAGA billionaire’s online fixation was further amplified on Thursday by Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty, who called Nyong’o and Page’s castings a “rewriting of history,” in a lengthy tirade against the film’s supposed inaccuracies.
“The role of Achilles will reportedly be played by Elliot Page. Looks like a guy—formerly Ellen Page, meaning the most famous warrior in history, not just Greek history—all of history—Achilles is about to be played by a transgender woman in a brand new movie," he said, shifting his focus next to Nyong’o.
“A woman who was definitely white is going to be played by Lupita Nyong’o,” he continued. “Helen of Troy was not Black. That’s not me being mean. That’s me telling the truth. The real actual truth, which we tend to do a lot of here, and Achilles was not a five-foot-one woman, but to the Left, this is all normal.”
Nolan defended his castings—which also include Oscar winners Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and Charlize Theron, as well as Zendaya, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson—in the Time interview, saying, “Hopefully they’ll enjoy the film, even if they don’t agree with everything.”
Musk’s anti-Odyssey push may fall on deaf ears. In July, The Odyssey‘s most-expensive IMAX tickets sold out a full year in advance of the film’s release date, before its first trailer had even dropped.
The Odyssey opens in theaters on July 17.
