Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o, who played Helen in Christopher Nolan's film 'The Odyssey', has responded to her critics. Nolan, who directed the film, which is set to be released on July 17, has also based the screenplay on the Greek poet Homer's epic poem 'The Odyssey'. 

The Nolan couple are also among the producers of the film. The big budget film, made at $ 25 million, has actors including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya and others in the main roles. But the controversy is currently over the casting of Lupita, who is considered the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen. Lupita plays both Helen and her sister in the film. 

Billionaire Elon Musk initially objected to the casting of the black 'Twelve Years a Slave' star Lupita in the mythological character. Musk has made a scathing comment, calling Nolan hypocritical for casting Helen of Troy in the film ‘The Odyssey’. Responding to a post by political analyst Matt Walls, Musk said, ‘Casting a black woman in the role of a white woman in a fundamental work of European literature is the same as casting a white man in the role of a tyrant.’ 

Musk also accused Nolan of losing his directorial integrity over Lupita, saying, ‘Chris Nolan desecrated Homer’s sacred text ‘The Odyssey’ by making a black Helen of Troy in the film just to win an Oscar. You should be ashamed of yourself.’ Nolan is the same director who cast a majority of white actors in his latest Oscar-winning film ‘Oppenheimer.’

After Musk’s comment, there was a heated debate on the pros and cons of this issue. While social media users, especially white people, are siding with Musk, most filmmakers are defending director Nolan's work and actress Lupita. Actor Alec Baldwin defended Lupita on social media, declaring her to be the 'most beautiful woman in the world'. As the criticism of the

mounts, actress Lupita has also spoken out in response. 'Yes, it's a mythological story, I'm a big supporter of director Chris's intentions and the story he's trying to tell in a new way,' she said. 'The casting in the film represents the whole world. So I don't want to waste my time commenting on it or defending it. Whether I'm in it or not, there will still be criticism.' However, she said that she was proud to be a part of the film. 

Lupita, who won several important awards, including the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her debut film, Twelve Years a Slave, expressed disappointment that she has not been offered a dynamic role in the 12 years since then. The actress, who has given hits like Us, Black Panther, The Wild Robot and A Quiet Place: Day One, added, “Most of the roles I was offered were slave women, which was both disappointing and surprising for me.”

But she is very excited about the character in The Odyssey. “It is an honor to be a part of a film based on a great book like The Odyssey. It will help make the world more diverse,” the 43-year-old actress added, “That is why this kind of casting has been done. We are also part of the poetic reading of this time.”