Something kind of hilarious happened over the weekend. It was announced that Lupita Nyong'o, a black actress, was going to play Helen of Troy in the upcoming Christopher Nolan adaptation of The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon.
That's not the funny part. That's the enraging part, because once again, we're getting an unnecessary race swap for a character that Homer described as having golden hair and white skin, and under the guise of "She was the best actress for the job." She wasn't. There are plenty of women who could've delivered an incredible performance and had the necessary physical characteristics to match the character's look for the time and setting, but Hollywood isn't concerned with accuracy, and increasingly, a good product.
My guess is Nolan is going hard for an Oscar, but I digress.
The funny part came when I, half jokingly, posted the racy image of Sydney Sweeney in her silver semi-transparent dress with the caption "SHE WAS RIGHT THERE." In all honesty, I'm not sure Sweeney would've had the acting capability to pull off anything within a Nolan movie, but she would certainly fit the role of being the woman who launched 1,000 ships.
As it happens, she launched 23,000 likes on the post.
She was right there.
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) January 31, 2026
SHE WAS RIGHT THERE! https://t.co/wmFhDpt4SN pic.twitter.com/pim0OO720Y
But like Helen of Troy, her appearance in a place where some people think she shouldn't be started a war in the comments of this post, with many on the left either declaring she's too ugly for the role — this from the crowd who called Doug Emhoff's daughter the most attractive woman alive — and that conservatives only seem to know "one actress."
It's true. Conservatives do have something of a love for Sweeney, and I'm not going to lie, I'm a fan too, despite the fact that I don't see her acting as anything to write home about. You could chalk it up to everyone who loves her being "gooners," and, to be sure, many people are highly attracted to her because of her physical beauty.
I'd even go so far as to say that most conservatives have never watched anything with her in it, whether it's her television show Euphoria or any of her movies, like The Housemaid. The thing is, we have seen what she's done for the culture without even trying, and for that alone, we love her.
Read: Woman of the Year: Sydney Sweeney
Now, I could stop there. Sweeney's complete rejection of the left's cultural boundaries and her polite middle finger to those trying to make her bend the knee was endearing enough.
But it's the fact that Sweeney continues not to ask us to take sides. She doesn't finger-wag at anyone from her position within the spotlight. She's one of the few people in the entertainment industry who learned that shutting up and inviting people to enjoy your work, whether it's acting or modeling, and not trying to squeeze your opinion into every working camera you can find, actually endears people to you.
And you can see other actors take this route too, and they're also loved. Anthony Hopkins, Chris Pratt, and others tend to keep their politics to themselves, and even when they do discuss them, it's usually from the perspective of "Agree to disagree, and that's that." There is no "Choose a side" vibe either through outright demand or radical declaration.
Sweeney continues to receive this love because she's, frankly, safe to enjoy. If and when I eventually do sit down to watch something she's a part of, I don't have to have a voice in the back of my head telling me she actually hates me and thus marring the enjoyment I would otherwise get out of the film. I don't have to recall a moment when she bent the knee to the people who hate me, so she can continue to get work.
That is, sadly, a rare quality in the entertainment industry nowadays, and since Sweeney has that quality, she is, for all intents and purposes, going to be proposed for roles she probably doesn't have the range to actually pull off. Is it because she's smokin' hot? Sure, but don't discount the fact that we'd be able to watch this movie and not have to feel like we gave up some cash to someone who would spit in our face if we met them in person.
Sweeney seems to understand that she works in an industry where, ultimately, it's our approval that matters, and we can appreciate that. We'll continue to be fans because of it.
