Whoopi Goldberg Shuts Down Backlash Over Elliot Page's 'The Odyssey' Role: 'Why Do You Care?'

Whoopi Goldberg defended Elliot Page after conservative commentators criticized the actor's casting in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster The Odyssey.

Goldberg reacted to a YouTube clip of Ben Shapiro questioning Page's role in the film.

During the Tuesday, July 22, episode of The View, Goldberg said, "Why go see the movie? If you don't want to see it, don't go see it. Why do you care who's cast in it?"

She added, "A lot of conservatives who see this are going to feel the same way. That's okay. But I don't understand."

Per The Wrap, Shapiro commented that Page's casting was an "absolute puzzler" before arguing that the actor was physically unsuited for the role.

As he pointed out, Page is "about 5’2 and 105 pounds soaking wet and has the voice of a woman. It doesn’t work."

Page appeared in the film as Sinon, a supporting character and cousin of Matt Damon's Odysseus.

However, a Variety reviewer later described the performance as "tersely vulnerable."

Goldberg also addressed the broader debate surrounding the film and the language often used by its critics.

Rather than focusing only on the casting controversy, per Deadline, she argued that the term "woke" had become a catch-all label aimed at everyday people.

According to the 70-year-old, the word was being used against people who were simply trying to work, raise their families and get an education, instead of describing anyone promoting a political agenda.

Per Variety, the criticism surrounding Page's role began before the official casting details were confirmed. Online rumors falsely claimed the actor had been cast as Achilles, prompting backlash from conservative figures, including Elon Musk.

Lupita Nyong'o also faced criticism after joining the project, with some online responses targeting her casting through racist attacks.

This came to light when conservative commentator Matt Walsh posted on his X account to insult Nyong’o and said, "Not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.'"

He added, "But Christopher Nolan knows that he would be called racist if he gave 'the most beautiful woman’ role to a white woman. Nolan is technically talented but a coward."

Walsh continued, "Too afraid to do anything that even slightly challenges the spirit of the age."

Musk endorsed Walsh's viewpoint by responding with, "True."

Additionally, Musk also commented in another post made by Alice Smith on X, which said, "Q: Why is Christopher Nolan like many other directors so keen to race swap white characters? A: Quotas and awards."

Musk addressed Nolan and wrote, "He wants the awards," which leads him to believe that Nolan is altering the characters' races in The Odyssey.

The online debate had little impact on the film's commercial success.

Nolan's The Odyssey opened to the biggest box office debut of the director's career. The epic has since earned more than $264.1 million worth of tickets worldwide, per Forbes.