What Elon Musk’s latest culture war ranting shows about his waning relevance
Elon Musk is losing the culture war — he just doesn’t know it yet
Musk’s one-man battle against “The Odyssey” is another symptom of his waning influence on the world outside the hothouse of X.
Elon Musk on April 28, 2026 at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif.Godofredo A. Vásquez / AP Photo
May. 25, 2026, 6:51 AM EDT
By John DeVore
Elon Musk has been busy: SpaceX filed for a blockbuster IPO. On Monday, a U.S. jury dismissed his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI. And last Wednesday, he accompanied President Donald Trump, and an entourage of tech moguls, to China for an elaborate state visit.
And yet, the richest man in the world spent much of the past week heckling a movie he hasn’t seen yet, directed by one of Hollywood’s most successful and celebrated directors, and starring a small army of A-list actors, including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Tom Holland, and Jonathan Bernthal. He seemed especially angry that a woman of color was cast in two roles.
In a just-dropped Time Magazine interview, director Christopher Nolan confirmed that Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o is playing two iconic roles in his $250 million adaptation of the Greek myth “The Odyssey.” In the ancient poet Homer’s epic “The Iliad,” which precedes “The Odyssey,” the Trojan prince Paris abducts Helen, wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, sparking a 10-year war with Greece that ends in tragedy. Nyong’o will portray Helen, “the face that launched 1,000 ships,” as well as Helen’s sister, the murderous Clytemnestra.
Musk quickly took to X to voice his displeasure with this casting choice: “Chris Nolan desecrated the Odyssey so that he would be eligible for an Academy Award.” Never mind the fact that the Academy’s eligibility criteria have nothing to do with casting.
Musk also reposted conservative commentator Matt Walsh, who wrote, “Not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.’ But Christopher Nolan knows that he would be called a racist if he gave the ‘most beautiful woman’ role to a white woman. Nolan is technically talented but a coward.”
Nolan’s casting of Zendaya as Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and rap superstar Travis Scott as a bard has also angered Musk toadies and assorted online bots. The trans actor Elliot Page was also cast, causing some hysterical right-wingers to (apparently incorrectly) suggest the actor is playing the great Greek warrior Achilles, slain by the Trojans, and who Odysseus briefly meets in the afterlife. Musk’s minions are so desperate for engagement that they have to work themselves into a lather over mere speculation.
All of this points to a clear conclusion. Elon Musk is losing the culture war; he just doesn’t know it yet. His whiny, white grievance and anti-DEI posts are becoming predictable. Boring. Viral filler. He has an enormous platform, but his messages are increasingly small-minded.
Musk’s one-man battle against “The Odyssey” is another symptom of his waning influence on the world outside the hothouse of X; his Cybertrucks aren’t selling, Grok, his AI product, is lagging behind rivals, and the man can’t decide whether Trump is his bestie.
Another sign that he’s losing his grip: Musk took a break from insulting Nolan and Nyong’o to petulantly criticize the series finale of Amazon Prime’s hit superhero parody “The Boys,” which he called “pathetic” for killing off the show’s MAGA-coded villain, Homelander, but not before he murders a parody of the billionaire. Musk admitted he hadn’t actually watched the show, though. He’s just sitting in one of his mansions angrily scrolling, and getting bent out of shape.
At least “The Boys” showrunner seems to be to having fun sparring with an increasingly humorless Musk on X.
Meanwhile, the two people Musk is targeting in his crusade against “The Odyssey” also seem to be taking his harassment in stride. Nolan hasn’t commented. But Nyong’o did chime in. “Our cast is representative of the world,” she said. “I’m not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not.”
Musk frequently posts bigoted opinions to X, which is his prerogative, I suppose. He owns that dumpster fire. But his current attempts to shame Nolan and suggest that the director, whose action and sci-fi movies are beloved by dudes, is indulging in nontraditional casting to win another Oscar feel transparently pitiful.
When it was first rumored that Nyong’o had been cast as Helen back in January of this year, furious users on X called it an “insult” to Homer. Musk later posted that “Chris Nolan has lost his integrity.” This underlying thesis is not only racist, but it’s also so ignorant that I wonder if Musk can tell the difference anymore between what is real and what is make-believe.
I’m not an expert in ancient history, but I’m pretty sure “The Odyssey” is fictional. There is no such thing as a man-eating Cyclops. And like all classic literature, Homer’s works are open to interpretation.
Another of the arguments against Nyong’o’s casting is that it isn’t historically accurate, never mind that both African and Middle Eastern countries border the Mediterranean. These critics seem to think the ancient Greeks really looked like ripped Scottish hunk Gerard Butler in director Zack Snyder’s cartoonish Spartan action film “300.”
You want realism? Helen of Troy’s father is Zeus, the god of thunder. Zeus, who transformed into animals and seduced mortals. What are we doing here?
Despite Musk’s musings, “The Odyssey” is already the most buzzed-about movie of the summer. The 70mm IMAX screenings are a hot ticket: opening weekend sold out within minutes of going on sale 12 months in advance. This isn’t surprising. Nolan remains one of the entertainment industry’s most dependable and respected directors of blockbusters, from 2023’s Oscar-winning historical phenomenon “Oppenheimer” to his formidable Batman trilogy to 2014’s emotional space opera “Interstellar.”
He’s also a director who has never worn his personal politics on his sleeve, although many of his movies have what could fairly be called conservative vibes. In 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” for example, a billionaire puts down a populist revolution led by a cross between Darth Vader and a communist guerrilla.
Everything I know about “The Odyssey” I learned in high school. I guess I was lucky enough to have an English teacher who knew this epic was full of action and romance, so he always emphasized the good parts. But while Musk might not want to admit it, at its core, “The Odyssey” is really an anti-war story about the ultimate wife guy on an endless, dangerous road trip back home. Through his hero’s journey, Homer teaches that smarts and grit matter more than brute strength. “The Odyssey” is a 2600-year-old message passed from storyteller to storyteller about what really matters in life. It’s a message a man like Musk could learn from — if he’d only stop whining long enough to listen.
In India, Rubio finds himself confronted over anti-Indian racism
The secretary of state was asked about bigoted rhetoric from Americans, which he called “dumb comments” from “stupid people.”
Racism and rank xenophobia tend to be poison pills as far as international relations are concerned.
The Trump administration — despite its chest-beating and appearing to relish embodying the “ugly American” stereotype — is learning this firsthand in its dealings with India.
Indian Americans helped elect Donald Trump in 2024. Nonetheless, some in the MAGA movement have flaunted anti-Indian bigotry, including through racist attacks on Trump-aligned figures such as FBI Director Kash Patel, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and cybersecurity official Madhu Gottumukkala.
Trump himself faced condemnation from Indian officials recently after he reposted a racist social media post that grouped India with “hellhole” countries.
Those comments have added tension to America’s relationship with India, on top of the tension Trump’s tariffs and war with Iran have already created. That helps explain why multiple outlets framed Rubio’s visit to India as an effort to “mend” or “repair” strained ties.
In a rather awkward exchange during the visit, a journalist pressed the secretary of state to talk about racist comments made by Americans toward India. Rubio responded by saying he takes it “very seriously,” before attributing such remarks to “stupid people.”
“Look, I’m sure that there are people that have made comments online and other places because every country in the world has stupid people,” he said. “I’m sure there are stupid people here; there are stupid people in the United States that make dumb comments — all the time.”
Much like Trump ally Laura Loomer, who backed off some of her bigoted rhetoric about India when she faced questioning during a March visit to New Delhi, Rubio discovered that some members of the foreign press are unafraid of calling out the cloud of bigotry hanging over the MAGA movement.
That said, minimizing racist and xenophobic remarks as “dumb” or “stupid” tends to make it easy for people in powerful positions, like Rubio, to avoid talking about how such bigotry has the potential to fuel discrimination and even violence. Last week’s shooting at a San Diego mosque, by two teenagers who appear to have been inspired by white supremacist rhetoric, offers a prime example of this threat.
Just because racism from Trump and members of his movement is “stupid” doesn’t preclude it from being dangerous — and worth taking seriously.
THE MAFIA BOSS’S SIX-YEAR-OLD SON WAS DESTROYING AN ENTIRE RESTAURANT—UNTIL AN EXHAUSTED WAITRESS APPROACHED HIM WITH CHOCOLATE CAKE AND ASKED ONE QUESTION THAT LEFT HIS FATHER SPEECHLESS. 023
THE MAFIA BOSS’S SIX-YEAR-OLD SON WAS DESTROYING AN ENTIRE RESTAURANT—UNTIL AN EXHAUSTED WAITRESS APPROACHED HIM WITH CHOCOLATE CAKE AND ASKED ONE QUESTION THAT LEFT HIS FATHER SPEECHLESS.
At 8:17 on Friday night, the first glass shattered.
Two minutes later, three terrified waiters were pressed against the wall, customers were fleeing, and the most feared man in New York sat motionless while his six-year-old son destroyed everything within reach.
Nobody dared intervene.
Nobody except Hannah Moore.
And all she carried was a slice of chocolate cake.
“Hannah, don't!” someone whispered desperately.
But the twenty-four-year-old waitress kept walking.
Across the devastated dining room, little Matthew Davis stood trembling, a silver fork clenched in one hand and an expensive porcelain vase raised above his head.
Tears streamed down his cheeks.
His face was twisted with rage.
But Hannah recognized something everyone else had missed.
The boy wasn't angry.
He was terrified.
“Matthew,” she whispered.
The child froze.
So did his father.
Victor Davis slowly raised his eyes toward her.
That single glance sent a chill down Hannah's spine.
Everyone in Manhattan knew Victor Davis.
Officially, he owned construction companies, freight businesses, nightclubs, and commercial properties.
Unofficially, his name was spoken only in whispers.
Men twice Hannah's size feared him.
But Hannah hadn't known who he was when he entered Romano's restaurant forty minutes earlier.
She was simply an exhausted waitress working her second job, desperately trying to pay her mother's mounting medical bills.
After serving coffee all morning in Midtown, she still had an overnight grocery-store shift waiting after midnight.
When Victor arrived with three sharply dressed associates and a little boy, Hannah noticed something strange.
Matthew barely moved.
While other children begged for dessert or played with silverware, he sat perfectly still, staring at his untouched pasta.
“Why is everyone acting terrified?” Hannah whispered to Marco, the head waiter.
Marco went pale.
“That's Victor Davis. Don't joke. Don't argue. Just serve his table.”
Hannah shrugged.
“People are people.”
Marco looked at her like she'd volunteered to walk into a lion's cage.
For most of dinner, everything remained quiet.
Victor discussed business.
His associates listened.
Matthew stared silently at his plate.
Then Victor turned toward his son.
“Eat.”
Matthew didn't move.
“Matthew. Pick up your fork.”
The boy's fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
One associate leaned forward.
“Vic, maybe he's not hungry.”
“He needs to eat.”
Matthew looked at his father.
Something unreadable flashed between them.
Then everything exploded.
With one violent sweep of his arm, Matthew sent his plate, glass, and silverware crashing onto the floor.
Victor stood.
“Matthew!”
The little boy screamed.
It wasn't an ordinary tantrum.
It was a desperate, heartbreaking scream that made Hannah's stomach twist.
Matthew hurled another glass, overturned a chair, swept dishes from a neighboring table, and tore a curtain from its brass hooks.
Customers rushed toward the exits.
Someone mentioned calling the police.
Victor's voice cut through the chaos.
“No one touches him.”
Everyone obeyed.
Then Matthew grabbed the porcelain vase.
That was when Hannah stepped forward.
She stopped six feet away, careful not to frighten him further.
“I'm not going to take that from you,” she said gently.
“GO AWAY!”
It was the first time she'd heard his voice.
So small.
So frightened.
“I can leave,” Hannah replied. “But first, I need your help.”
Matthew blinked.
Hannah lifted a plate holding four layers of chocolate cake, raspberry filling, and fresh berries.
“Our chef says this is Manhattan's best chocolate cake.”
The boy stared.
“Personally, I think he's exaggerating.”
Victor's associates exchanged stunned glances.
“So I need someone completely honest to taste it.”
Slowly, Matthew lowered the vase.
“You want me to eat cake?”
“Only if you want to.”
His trembling hands dropped another inch.
Then he whispered something that made Hannah's heart ache.
“Even after I broke everything?”
Hannah opened her mouth to answer.
But before she could speak, Matthew looked toward his father and asked a question that made Victor's face turn deathly pale...
