Alec Baldwin was far from pleased with Elon Musk’s recent comments about Lupita Nyong’o. Musk criticized her casting as Helen of Troy in the forthcoming adaptation of “The Odyssey,” inspired by Homer’s legendary poem.
The CEO of Tesla voiced skepticism, questioning Nyong’o’s suitability to portray Zeus’s daughter, whose renowned beauty, according to Greek lore, incited the decade-long Trojan War when she was whisked away to Troy by Prince Paris.
In addition to portraying Helen, Nyong’o is set to play her sibling, Clytemnestra, another striking figure in Greek myths, though not famed enough to cause nautical armadas to be launched for her.
Taking to Instagram, Baldwin stood up for Nyong’o with a heartfelt message: “Dear Elon… she IS the most beautiful woman in the world,” accompanying the post with a picture of the 43-year-old actress, who boasts both Kenyan and Mexican heritage.
The exchange of barbs was ignited by political pundit and podcast host Matt Walsh, who commented on social media platform X, asserting, “Not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.’”
Walsh, often criticized for allegedly advocating white supremacist ideologies and propagating racially charged conspiracy theories, then shifted his focus to critique the film’s director.
Alec Baldwin didn’t take kindly to Elon Musk disparaging Lupita Nyong’o’s looks over her casting as Helen of Troy in the upcoming film The Odyssey; seen on March 9
The outspoken actor defended Nyong’o via his Instagram page by stating, ‘Dear Elon… but she IS the most beautiful woman in the world’; Nyong’o seen in March 2025
‘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. Too afraid to do anything that even slightly challenges the spirit of the age,’ Walsh concluded.
Musk seconded Walsh’s opinion by writing, ‘True.’
When someone posed the question, ‘Why is Christopher Nolan like so many other directors so keen to race swap white characters?’ Musk responded, ‘He wants the awards.’
The billionaire said Nolan has ‘lost his integrity’ by casting Nyong’o in the role.
In another post, Walsh claimed people would be ‘driven to murderous violence’ if Sydney Sweeney had been cast in a film as ‘the most beautiful woman in Africa.’
‘Absolutely true,’ Musk chimed in. ‘Such hypocrisy in Hollywood.’
Earlier this month, rumors began to circulate online that 39-year-old transgender actor Elliot Page had been cast as Achilles, the legendary hero of the Trojan War, which also set Musk on edge.
He wrote on X that the idea was ‘one of the dumbest and twisted things I’ve ever heard.’
When conservative commentator Matt Walsh inferred the Kenyan-Mexican actress wasn’t beautiful enough to play the daughter of Zeus, Musk wrote, ‘True’; Musk seen Thursday in Beijing
The billionaire Tesla CEO said The Odyssey director Christopher Nolan (seen in 2024) has ‘lost his integrity’ by casting Nyong’o in the role and ‘wants the awards’
Baldwin – seen with wife Hilaria in December 2025 – is clearly not a fan of Musk’s
Nyong’o – seen in May 2025 – was crowned People magazine’s Most Beautiful in 2014, the same year she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave
After it was announced that Page will portray the character Elpenor, Musk reposted a mean-spirited tweet that read, ‘I’m not mocking her masculinity. I’m denying its existence.’
Meanwhile, Nyong’o – who took home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2014 for her role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave – was crowned People magazine’s most beautiful that year.
‘It was exciting and just a major, major compliment,’ the actress said at the time. ‘I was happy for all the girls who would see me on [it] and feel a little more seen.’
Nyong’o used to base beauty on what she saw on television. ‘Light skin and long, flowing, straight hair,’ she told the publication. ‘Subconsciously you start to appreciate those things more than what you possess.’
She added that her mother, Dorothy, ‘always said I was beautiful, and I finally believed her at some point.’
