Sunny Hostin is done mincing words: Elon Musk is a white supremacist.
The View co-host unloaded on the tech billionaire Tuesday after Musk attacked Christopher Nolan’s rumored casting of Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o in his upcoming film The Odyssey. Musk wrote on his platform X that the director “has lost his integrity” over the choice—despite the fact that Nyong’o’s specific role hasn’t even been confirmed yet.
WHAT’S GOING ON: Reports emerged last week that Nolan cast Nyong’o in his film adaptation of the Greek epic, alongside Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, and Charlize Theron. Some commenters speculated she might play Helen of Troy, and Musk jumped on the bandwagon, agreeing with a user who claimed Nyong’o couldn’t possibly be right for the role because the character is described as “fair skinned, blonde.”
Neither Nolan nor Nyong’o has commented on the speculation. Musk, as usual, couldn’t help himself.
THE DETAILS: Hostin wasn’t having it. “Anyone can portray a fictional character,” she said on air. “It doesn’t have to be a white person that plays this part.”
Then she went further: “I think we have to call a thing a thing when we’re talking about someone like Elon Musk… We know what this is. He is a white supremacist. In my view, he is a racist.”
Hostin laid out her receipts, noting that Musk “has trafficked in white supremacy on the internet, on social media, on X, for quite some time.” She cited his January comments calling for “white solidarity” and warning that white men would be “slaughtered” if they became a minority, as well as his September posts about white people being a “rapidly diminishing minority of the global population.”
Whoopi Goldberg took a more personal approach, addressing Musk directly: “Lupita is also considered one of the world’s most beautiful women. So, I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”
She continued: “You don’t actually have to go to the movie. I would suggest looking in the mirror if you have any concerns of other people’s looks. And don’t try to clown me, baby, I know what I look like.” Musk should “sit down when it comes to artistic stuff,” she added.
Joy Behar had a quick rejoinder: “Or for politics, he should sit down.”
OF COURSE: This isn’t Musk’s first time attacking a Black actress for being cast in a role he apparently thinks should be reserved for white performers. He made similar comments when Cynthia Erivo was cast as Christ in the Hollywood Bowl’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar last year.
Goldberg wrapped things up with barely restrained fury: “There are so many things I want to say to you that are rude and awful, but I won’t do it. But know that I’m thinking it.”
WHY IT MATTERS: Musk isn’t just some random internet troll—he’s the world’s richest man, owner of a major social media platform, and a close advisor to the Trump administration. When he posts racist attacks on Black actresses based on unconfirmed casting rumors, it’s not just garden-variety bigotry. It’s a signal to his massive following about who belongs in what spaces, who gets to play which roles, and whose beauty counts. Hostin calling it what it is—white supremacy—matters precisely because so many people in power refuse to.