Jimmy Kimmel wants Elon Musk to “stay in[his]lane” after criticizing the casting of Lupita Nyong’o in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
During the comedian’s opening monologue on Tuesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Kimmel talked about how billionaire businessmen and other “trolls” “have had to complain randomly to distract us.”
“Elon Musk is currently attacking director Christopher Nolan for the way he cast his film ‘The Odyssey,'” he told viewers.
“He is upset because director Christopher Nolan hired Lupita Nyong’o to play a role that he believes should be played by a white woman,” Kimmel added.
Kimmel, 58, then read a tweet shared by director Musk, 54, about Nolan’s decision to cast a black woman to play Helen of Troy, the character who sparked the Trojan War in Greek mythology.
“Musk posted (on “Following that up, ‘Who exactly are the bad guys who added DEI lies to Academy Award eligibility, not just to make the best movie?'”
Kimmel sarcastically called the question a “good” question and quipped, “While listening to that, what outrageous person thought this was a cool design for a truck?”
“In other words, stay in your lane,” he said as an image of Musk’s Tesla Cybertruck appeared on the screen.
Page Six reached out to representatives for Nyong’o and Musk for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Last week, Alec Baldwin also criticized Musk’s comments about Nyong’o.
“Dear Elon…but she is the most beautiful woman in the world…Alec,” the “30 Rock” alum, 68, posted on Instagram alongside a photo of the Oscar-winning actress, 43.
X’s owner has been attacking Nolan online in recent days.
When someone asked, “Why is Christopher Nolan, like so many other directors, so keen on race-swapping his white characters?” Mr. Musk replied, “He wants the awards.”
Tesla’s CEO claimed the 55-year-old filmmaker “lost his integrity” by casting the Oscar-winning actress in the role.
Earlier this month, Musk also tweeted about rumors that transgender actor Elliot Page had been cast as Trojan War hero Achilles, writing that the idea was “one of the most ridiculous and twisted things I’ve ever heard.”
After it was announced that Page, 39, would actually be playing the character Elpenor, the SpaceX founder, who is estranged from his transgender daughter Vivian, reposted a tweet that read, “I’m not mocking her masculinity. I’m denying its existence.”
