Whoopi Goldberg’s response to the Elliot Page casting controversy was less a Hollywood defense than a reminder that buying a movie ticket remains optional. On the July 21 episode of ABC’s The View, Goldberg told critics of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey that they could simply skip the film.

“Then don’t go see it,” Goldberg said after the panel aired a clip of conservative commentator Ben Shapiro calling Page’s role an “absolute puzzler.” She added, “Why do you care who’s cast in it?”

The comments followed months of criticism aimed at Page, who is transgender, and Lupita Nyong’o, a Black actress playing Helen of Troy. Elon Musk was among those who amplified objections to both performers. Some online claims incorrectly said Page had been cast as Achilles, although the completed film and subsequent reporting confirmed that he plays Sinon.

What role does Elliot Page play in The Odyssey?

Page’s Sinon is a supporting character who confronts Matt Damon’s Odysseus with the human consequences of war and violence. During a July 22 appearance on The Daily Show, Page said he had been “terrified” by the responsibility because the character functions as the film’s moral anchor.

There is also a literary complication, which makes the pre-release certainty surrounding the debate especially awkward. Page told TheWrap that Sinon does not appear in Homer’s Odyssey. The Greek operative associated with the Trojan Horse is principally known from Virgil’s Aeneid.

In other words, Nolan was not merely filling roles in a rigidly preserved text. He was combining and reshaping elements from the broader tradition surrounding the Trojan War and Odysseus. That has opened a more substantial debate about adaptation, separate from objections centered on an actor’s identity.

Classicists have questioned some of Nolan’s choices, including his treatment of Odysseus. Gareth Hinds, who adapted the epic as a graphic novel, asked how much a protagonist can change before the underlying story changes with him. That is a recognizable artistic question. False claims about Page playing Achilles are not.

How did Nolan and the cast answer the criticism?

Nolan dismissed the pre-release disputes as “irrelevant,” telling The Telegraph that the people making the complaints had not seen the film. Nyong’o offered an equally direct point in an interview with Variety: “This is a mythological story.”

Director Scott Derrickson also criticized Musk’s repeated objections, calling his argument “worthless.” Derrickson sarcastically suggested that viewers demanding complete historical authenticity could watch a version performed entirely in Homeric Greek. Ancient epic poetry has survived many revisions, although apparently modern casting remains the point at which some viewers discover strict textual fidelity.

Goldberg approached the issue from the audience’s side. She argued that “woke” has become a broad label used against people who are simply working, studying, raising families or pursuing opportunities. Her central point was not that every viewer must approve of Nolan’s choices. It was that disapproval does not require a political campaign against the performers.

That distinction matters because Page largely avoided centering the controversy in his own promotional comments. He focused instead on the pressure of working with Nolan and on what Sinon contributes to the story. For an actor discussing a major role, that would normally be the relevant subject.

Did the backlash affect the box office?

The early commercial evidence suggests it did not. Universal Pictures released The Odyssey worldwide in IMAX on July 17, positioning the film as one of the summer’s largest theatrical events.

According to the Associated Press, it opened with:

  • $124.5 million in North America
  • $139.6 million internationally
  • $264.1 million worldwide
  • $51.8 million globally from IMAX screenings alone

The domestic debut was Nolan’s largest since The Dark Knight Rises in 2012 and exceeded the opening of Oppenheimer. Forbes characterized the worldwide total as the director’s biggest global debut to date.

Premium formats were a major part of that result. IMAX contributed $29.6 million domestically, while 70 mm presentations sold out in multiple locations. With a reported production budget of about $250 million, the film still needs a sustained theatrical run, but its opening showed substantial demand well beyond online political arguments.

The contrast is useful. Casting complaints generated attention for months, while audiences spent tens of millions of dollars specifically to see the film on the largest available screens. Whatever motivated ticket buyers, organized resistance to Page and Nyong’o did not produce a visible opening-weekend penalty.

Why the adaptation debate matters more

Universal assembled a cast that also includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron. Nolan wrote and directed the film and produced it with Emma Thomas through Syncopy. It is also the first feature promoted as having been shot entirely with IMAX cameras.

That scale makes the argument over adaptation worth examining. Homer’s work has been retold for centuries, with artists changing characterization, structure and emphasis for new audiences. Scholars can reasonably debate whether Nolan’s Odysseus remains faithful to the figure in the poem, or whether bringing Sinon into the narrative improves its moral focus. Those discussions engage with the film itself.

The attacks on Page and Nyong’o largely began before viewers could do that. They focused on identity, speculative claims and an idea of historical accuracy applied to a mythological narrative assembled from several ancient traditions.

Goldberg’s answer was deliberately simpler than the literary debate: no one is required to attend. The box office suggests most moviegoers already understood that choice and made it without needing a televised argument.