Elon Musk has labelled English historian Tom Holland a ‘cuck’ as a woke row broke out over a black actress being cast as Helen of Troy in The Odyssey.The Tesla boss made the jibe on his social media platform X as he responded to a post from the academic who had voiced his support for the fantasy action adaptation.Christopher Nolan's production is based on Homer's ancient Greek epic of the same name – one of the oldest surviving works of literature which follows the heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus, and his homecoming journey after the ten-year Trojan War.The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as his wife Penelope, as well as English actor Tom Holland – who shares his name with the historian.But the $250million budget movie has faced criticism over its casting of Kenyan black actress Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy plus other alleged historical inaccuracies.Critics have raised concerns about 'race-swapping' mythological figures, given Ms Nyong'o's character is rooted in the ancient Mediterranean world during the Bronze Age and traditional descriptions or artwork depict her as fair-skinned and blonde.Helen was a figure in Greek mythology known as the 'most beautiful woman in the world' whose 'face launched a thousand ships' when her abduction sparked the war.The casting of transgender actor Elliot Page as an ill-fated young member of Odysseus's crew called Elpenor has also attracted criticism from Mr Musk.Taking to X, historian Mr Holland re-posted a glowing review of the film, captioning his post: 'More praise for The Odyssey from people who – shockingly – have actually waited to see it before giving their opinion.' In a responding tweet that has now amassed 12million views, Mr Musk wrote: 'Tom Holland is such a cuck.'A 'cuck' traditionally refers to a man whose wife or girlfriend is unfaithful; but is also used as a modern insult to a man deemed weak, submissive or overly progressive. It is unclear whether the world's richest man had intended to reference Mr Holland the actor rather than the historian, who is known for his book Dominion on the Christian roots of Western morality and as the co-host of the The Rest is History podcast.Mr Holland, the historian, has since responded to the criticism. He said: 'Very happy to say it again. The Odyssey is an amazing film, and missing out on seeing it because you think it's woke or whatever is cutting off your nose to spite your face. Your loss.' Lupita Nyong'o plays Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra in The Odyssey Ms Nyong'o attends the The Odyssey's French premiere in Paris last night From left: Benny Safdie, Lupita Nyong'o, John Leguizamo, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Himesh Patel, Samantha Morton, Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas in a promotional photo for The Odyssey in London on SundayMr Holland later added: 'My last comment on this whole business (which I hadn't realised was a lightning rod for an entire culture war) – if you like Nolan's other films, you will love The Odyssey. If you didn't like them, then miss it.'Nolan began writing The Odyssey in March 2024 and the film was announced in the December – with the film-maker said to have studied several translations of the book in preparation. It is among the most expensive of Sir Christopher's career.The movie premiered on July 6 ahead of its theatrical release by Universal Pictures on July 17 in the US and UK.But there was backlash over the hiring of black performers Ms Nyong'o, Zendaya and rapper Travis Scott – who has never held a major acting role before.Page was initially rumoured to have been cast as Achilles, the legendary hero of the Trojan War. But even after it was announced that the actor will portray the character Elpenor, Musk reposted a tweet saying: 'I'm not mocking her masculinity. I'm denying its existence.'Musk has also previously criticised the casting of Ms Nyong'o, saying in May that Nolan has 'grossly insulted the Greek people'.He added: 'I agree that she [Ms Nyong'o] is beautiful, but casting a Black woman to play a White woman in a foundational work of European literature is no more right than casting a White man to play Shaka Zulu!'Musk further tweeted: 'Chris Nolan is an anti-White racist.'Ms Nyong'o has however hit back, telling Elle: 'I'm very supportive of Chris's intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling. Our cast is representative of the world.''I'm not spending my time thinking of a defence. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not.''It's quite something to be a part of The Odyssey, because it is so grand. It spans worlds. So that's why the cast is what it is. We're occupying the epic narrative of our time.'After months of mounting online fury, professional critics rendered a positive verdict on X ahead of the lifting of the official review embargo. Tom Holland, who plays Telemachus is pictured in a scene from The Odyssey. It is unclear whether the multi-billionaire had intended to reference Tom Holland the actor rather than the British historian Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey has been hotly anticipated for years, with an all-star cast including Matt Damon as Odysseus and Zendaya as the goddess Athena The casting of transgender actor Elliot Page as a young member of Odysseus's crew has also been criticised by Elon Musk Tom Holland is known for his book Dominion on the Christian roots of Western morality and as the co-host of the The Rest is History podcastJoin the discussionWhat do you make of Elon Musk’s comments? What's your view?'Christopher Nolan's #TheOdyssey is an absolute triumph and a crowning cinematic achievement from one of the great filmmakers of our time,' author Erik Davis said.Jazz Tangcay of Variety said: 'Christopher Nolan is a visionary, and #TheOdyssey is a work of art. He has outdone himself. You could feel the passion in his storytelling. You feel the passion in the crafts and the acting.'But fan criticism has grown so intense online that the official X account for the film has restricted comments on its posts. Ms Nyong'o, who won an Oscar for the 2013 historical drama 12 Years a Slave, will also feature in the film as Helen's sister Clytemnestra.Her hiring provoked a fierce response on X, including from conservative pundit Matt Walsh, who fumed that nobody 'on the planet' regards Ms Nyong'o as the world's greatest beauty but that Nolan 'knows that he would be called racist if he gave 'the most beautiful woman' role to a white woman'.Musk responded to Mr Walsh by writing: 'True,' eliciting pushback by outspoken liberals like Alec Baldwin and Jimmy Kimmel.Ms Nyong'o recently confessed she 'really had no idea what The Odyssey was' when she was first approached for the project, in an interview with Elle.She said: 'I was like: "Oh, snap, I don't know the first thing about this." So it was a crash course. I picked up the books and read them immediately. I have this film to thank for my Greek mythological education.'Designs of the armour and ships featured in trailers of the film previously met criticism from some Greek publications, historians and commentators as did the casting of non-Greek actors.Some commentators labelled the changes 'unrealistic' for the period and as a misrepresentation of ancient Greek history. In May, Nolan gave an interview explaining the creative impetus for his hiring of Scott, a world-famous rapper who was nevertheless untested as an actor.'I cast him,' the director explained to Time, 'because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap.'