Wicked star Cynthia Erivo shares poignant reason why she came out as bisexual later in life
Cynthia Erivo identifies as bisexual. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Cynthia Erivo has opened up about about coming out as bisexual later in life after not knowing “what to call it” as a teenager.
The acclaimed actress, who starred in Michaela Coel’s sitcom Chewing Gum, confirmed she was bisexual in an interview with British Vogue.
Prior to this, in August 2021, the actress and singer described herself as queer.
During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Erivo explained why it took her a while to publicly come out, saying as a teenager she didn’t have the language to “even know what was going on”.
“I think it’s come much later to me now and it’s wonderful to just be me, really. And I think it’s made space, creatively, to just let go of whatever I was hiding.
“I guess you don’t realise you’re doing that, putting so much energy behind it – once you take the energy away from concealing something that is so a part of you that you can’t hide it, you can put it elsewhere – make more wonderful things.”
Erivo shared with Clarkson that she knew she felt different when she was younger, but recalled a feeling of not knowing what to do.
She said: “What do I call this? What do I say about it? I think sometimes we assume that every queer person knows it from the beginning.
“Most of us do, but we don’t necessarily know the language until someone says, ‘Hey these are words that you might want to use, these are expressions you might want to use, here’s some space for you so you can speak about yourself without someone else telling you.’”
Ahead of her interview with British Vogue, Cynthia Erivo shared an Instagram post that read: “Nerves and fear have got in the way of sharing all of who I am, and today with Pride and with wonderful people beside me I’m sharing a little more.”
Cynthia Erivo has received many accolades throughout her career, including a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album for the Broadway revival of The Color Purple.
According to IMBd, the actress will star as Elphaba in the film adaptation of Wicked, with pop icon Ariana Grande playing Glinda.
