“View” co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin hit back at billionaire Elon Musk over his hot take on rumors that Lupita Nyong’o would star as Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey.”
Musk used his X platform last week to declare that Nolan “lost his integrity” in a response to a user who argued that casting Nyong’o to play the Greek mythological figure didn’t reflect descriptions of Helen as “fair skinned, blonde, and ‘the face that launched a thousand ships’” into war due to her beauty.
Nyong’o — an Oscar winner and the daughter of Kenyan politician Anyang’ Nyong’o — is named among the all-star cast of Nolan’s film on IMDb, but her role is yet to be confirmed.
Goldberg kicked off the discussion by reminding Musk that Lupita Nyong’o is considered to be one of the “world’s most beautiful women” and the billionaire doesn’t have to see the movie after it drops in July.
“I don’t know why you feel like you need to speak on this,” Goldberg said.
“And I would suggest looking in a mirror if you have any concerns about people’s looks, if this is where we’re going. And don’t bother to try to clown me, baby, I know what I look like! You know, there’s so many things I want to say to you that are rude and awful, but I won’t do it. But know that I’m thinking it.”
Lupita Nyong’o is listed in the cast for Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey,” but her role is not confirmed.
Hostin chimed in, remarking that anyone can play a “fictional character” such as Helen and “beauty, in and of itself, is subjective.”
“There is no standard of beauty. It doesn’t have to be a white person that plays this part,” she said.
Hostin made a nod to Musk’s history of pushing the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, pointing to how the billionaire recently amplified a post that called for “white solidarity” and warned that white men “will be slaughtered” if they become a minority.
The billionaire, she noted, has also warned that white people are a “rapidly diminishing minority” of the global population and accused the South African government of being “super racist against anyone who isn’t Black,” an apparent advancement of unfounded claims of a “white genocide” in the country.
“And so we know what this is. He is a white supremacist. In my view, he is a racist. And I think we call a thing a thing,” Hostin said.
Moments later, Goldberg wrapped up the segment with a direct message for Musk: “When it comes to artistic stuff, go sit down, please!”