Cynthia Erivo calls for light shone on ‘invisible’ LGBT+ community
Wicked star Erivo has previously said she was ‘really proud I came out the way I did’, when disclosing she is bisexual.
British actress Cynthia Erivo has called for a light to be shone on those who are “invisible” in the LGBT+ community, such as people who identify non-binary, as she picked up a prize from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (Glaad).
The two-time Oscar nominee, 38, received the organisation’s Stephen F Kolzak Award, which goes to a “professional who has made a significant difference in raising visibility and promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues”.
Wicked star Erivo has previously said she was “really proud I came out the way I did”, when disclosing she is bisexual.
“I have spoken about being your whole self and your true self. I speak about the prizes that come from being you against (the) odds,” she said at the Glaad Media Awards on Thursday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
“But rarely do I acknowledge how hard it can be. So I thought that I would make some room for those of us who are trying to find the courage to exist as we want, because I think this is the space to do that.
“It isn’t easy. None of it is. Waking up and choosing to be yourself, proclaiming a space belongs to you when you don’t feel welcomed, teaching people on a daily basis how to address you and dealing with the frustration of reteaching people a word that has been in the human vocabulary since the dawn of time: they/them.”
She added that the word is used to describe people who are “simple more”, and said that it is not easy to “ask people to treat you with dignity since you should just have it because it’s simply a given”.
While referencing the yellow brick road of The Wizard Of Oz (1939), which musical Wicked serves as a prequel to, she added: “Here in this room, we have all been the recipients of the gift that is the opportunity to be more.
“I doubt that it has come easy to any of us, but more, for some, the road has not been one paved with yellow bricks, but instead paved with bumps and potholes.
“Whichever road you have travelled, how beautiful it is that you’ve had a road to travel on at all. There are the invisible ones who have had no road at all.”
She added that she hopes people will be “encouraged”, and said the “real work” is making sure there is a level playing field for the next generation.
Erivo said that she is “proud” of those wanting to be “out”, while urging the audience to think of those “who are not seen”.
“I ask every single one of you in this room with the spaces that you’re in and the lights that you hold to point it in the direction for someone who just needs a little guidance,” she added.
Erivo plays Elphaba in Wicked, which explores the friendship she has with Glinda, played by US pop star Ariana Grande, as the green witch is misunderstood due to her skin colour, before they become estranged.
The Londoner will return for the Wicked sequel Wicked: For Good, which is set to come out later this year, and is also directed by Jon M Chu.
Her other roles include playing “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin in the series Genius: Aretha, for which she was Emmy nominated, and abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet.
