Joe Rogan Torches 'Culture War Controversies' Sparked by Diverse Cast of 'The Odyssey': 'It's a Made-Up Story'
Joe Rogan hit back at the critics slamming 'The Odyssey.'
July 30 2026, Published 5:35 p.m. ET
Joe Rogan went off on the rampant criticism surrounding the diverse cast featured in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
On Wednesday, July 30, the podcaster pointed out that it is a "made-up story," after critics like Elon Musk implied the flick wasn't "historically accurate" enough.
'Culture War Controversies'
Joe Rogan said people have been 'scrambling' to see 'The Odyssey' amid controversy.
While discussing entertainment and nostalgia on the Wednesday installment of his podcast, Rogan noted that going to the movie theater doesn't feel the same as it did in past decades.
"There’s so much content, but yet there’s not that one thing that was a really big part of the movie experience when we were younger," he explained. "And that idea that there’s some exciting movie coming out on Friday and we’re going to go to it."
He added that a movie like The Odyssey has actually become "so big" that people are "scrambling to go see it" in theaters again.
Despite the excitement, Rogan also said there were "culture war controversies" over the inclusion of Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o and transgender actor Elliot Page.
"Everybody that I know that’s seen it, I haven’t seen it yet, says ‘F--- it, throw all that away. The movie’s amazing,'" he claimed.
"The culture war part of it, at the very least, it got people excited to see it, and either to hate it or…but I know a lot of people that wanted to go hate it and because they were upset that Elliot Page played this person," he continued. "Helen of Troy is a Black lady… who f---ing cares?!"
Some critics lashed out at 'The Odyssey' over the inclusion of Elliot Page.
“They were fighting about films that are coming out. I was like, ‘Come on, guys. Calm down. Calm down.’ I don’t care,” he continued. “It’s just, is it entertaining? Is it good? It doesn’t have to be correct. That doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Elon Musk Promises AI Version of 'The Odyssey'
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Elon Musk announced Grok would make a new version of 'The Odyssey.'
Must has been especially critical of the casting choices. In response, Musk announced that he would have Grok Imagine, an AI image and video generator, create a "full-length movie of The Odyssey" before the end of the year.
He claimed the film would be "historically accurate and true to the art of Homer."
However, a source close to the AI industry hit back.
"Many people see this as another attempt by Elon to position AI as a direct challenger to traditional filmmaking," a source told Radar. "But others believe repeatedly targeting one of the year's biggest movies risks looking more like a bizarre obsession with Christopher Nolan's success and pioneering film techniques than a serious technological demonstration."
Another insider added, "People are questioning why Elon keeps returning to The Odyssey. Whether he's promoting Grok or making a broader point about AI, every new comment inevitably draws comparisons with Christopher Nolan's film instead of standing on its own."
"It's just coming across as pathetic jealousy, as it is very unlikely Grok will come close to Christopher's achievements as a filmmaker."
