Lupita Nyong’o is facing online criticism after making a pointed remark about the ancient Greek poet Homer.
While promoting Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film The Odyssey, the 43-year-old actress was asked what she would say to Homer if she had the chance to meet him in the present day.
‘So, Homer, how do you feel about the screen time given to these women considering how little you spent with them?’ she said during an appearance on the Jake’s Takes YouTube channel. ‘Remember us?’
Nyong’o, who portrays both Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra in Nolan’s adaptation, delivered the comment assuredly while tilting her head to the side.
The response quickly drew pushback online, with one critic describing the Oscar winner’s answer as ‘straight out of idiocracy.’
Other users took aim at her Yale School of Drama background, noting that Nyong’o has previously acknowledged she had not read The Odyssey before joining the film.
Lupita Nyong’o has drawn backlash over a critical comment she made about the ancient Greek poet Homer; pictured July 6
During a press tour for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, the 43-year-old actress said she would question Homer about the limited focus on women in the epic
Internet users have not taken kindly to the star’s perspective, with one calling her snarky reply ‘straight out of idiocracy’
‘”She received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama” and knew nothing of The Odyssey going in. Yale is turning into an expensive community college,’ one X user griped.
For an Elle cover story in May, Nyong’o confessed that she ‘went in quite blind’ when meeting Nolan about his film adaptation.
‘I really had no idea what The Odyssey was,’ she told the outlet. ‘I was like, “Oh, snap, I don’t know the first thing about this.” So it was a crash course. I picked up the books and read them immediately. I have this film to thank for my Greek mythological education.’
On a @Nerdrotics X thread posted on Monday, one person wrote about the silver screen siren: ‘She thinks it’s still 2016 and everyone is going to stand up, clap and yell, “YAAAASSSSS QUEEN.”‘
Another added, ‘She’s living in a leftist bubble and hasn’t any real knowledge of world history.’
Someone agreed about left-leaning people, ‘They don’t realize the majority of the population is against their agenda.’
Multiple people highlighted the similarities between Rachel Zegler’s 2025 Snow White press tour, which was marred by controversy and overshadowed by her comments calling the original cartoon ‘extremely dated.’
‘This has Snow White vibes,’ claimed one person, and another said, ‘Lupita just got her Zegler moment.’
Others mocked her Yale drama school education, pointing out that the actress previously admitted she hadn’t read The Odyssey before being cast in the project
On a @Nerdrotics X thread posted on Monday, one person wrote about the silver screen siren: ‘She thinks it’s still 2016’
Another added, ‘She’s living in a leftist bubble and hasn’t any real knowledge of world history’
Someone claimed about left-leaning people, ‘They don’t realize the majority of the population is against their agenda’
‘Lupita just got her Zegler moment,’ said one social media user, referencing Rachel Zegler’s controversial 2025 Snow White press tour
Another upset fan vowed not to see the movie when it comes out
Nyong’o plays Helen of Troy as well as her sister, Clytemnestra, in Nolan’s movie, in theaters July 17
Another upset fan vowed not to see the movie when it comes out in theaters on July 17, writing, ‘This will be the hardest I’ve not watched a movie in my life.’
In another recent interview, this one with DC Film Girl, Nyong’o explained the director’s objective with the film.
‘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,’ she told interviewer Lauren Veneziani.
‘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.’
She previously defended Nolan’s decision to cast her as Helen, reminding readers that Homer’s epic ‘is a mythological story’ rather than a historical account in the aforementioned Elle profile.
‘You can’t perform beauty,’ she told the publication. ‘I want to know who a character is.’
She continued: ‘What is beyond beauty? What is beyond looks? That’s the thing about doing such a well-known text, which has been studied and interpreted and derived from.’
‘Research could be endless. The good thing about working with a writer like Chris is that it’s on the page,’ she said about working with the acclaimed director. The investigation starts with the pages you’re given. That’s what I based it on.’
The Black Panther star added: ‘I’m very supportive of Chris’s intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling.’
