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Cynthia Erivo鈥檚 Sexuality: Is She Bi-Sexual? Is She Queer?

Cynthia Erivo is one of the most established actresses, singers, and songwriters in the world having received multiple nominations including the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical among others. She was born in Stockwell, London in the United Kingdom where she began her high-flying career. However, becoming a superstar attracted people鈥檚 attention as many asked questions about her sexual orientation.

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Although Cynthia Erivo grew up in an ordinary environment, she knew that something was different in the way she interacted with other children in the neighborhood. However, many people live through several decades without knowing the right terms to call their sexuality. Cynthia Erivo was one of them because she did not know how to define her sexual orientation until she was a fully grown adult.

In an interview with British Vogue during the 2022 Pride Month, the famous actress opened up exclusively about her sexuality admitting that she had no idea what she would call herself.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I had the language to even know what was going on. It鈥檚 come much later to me now and it鈥檚 wonderful to just be me, really,鈥� Erivo said in the interview.

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Erivo says that many people assume that every queer person knows it from the beginning which is truly not the case. Millions of people did not know their sexuality while growing up. Some did not find the courage to face reality and live a true life while others realized later in life that they belonged to certain groups and embraced their sexual orientation.

Finally finding the right terms to refer to herself as bisexual must have taken a huge burden on her shoulders. Although many people might say that she wasted time by staying for many years without knowing what she was, Erivo thinks that staying in hiding for a long time played positively for her.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 sort of made space creatively to just sort of let go of whatever I was hiding,鈥� she added during the interview with British Vogue.

As a successful actress and singer, Erivo has received the call to take part in the upcoming movie Wicked in which she will play Elphaba. Therefore she is not a person who would hide something as big as her sexuality from the public eye because of the constant inquiries by her fans around the world.

According to Erivo, hiding one鈥檚 sexuality is not an easy thing to do as it requires a lot of energy and extra care. However, she says that coming out of the closet is easy because one needs to channel the energy to something more important and live their true, authentic selves.

鈥淥nce you take the energy away from concealing something that is so a part of you that you can鈥檛 hide it, you can put it elsewhere and make more wonderful things,鈥� Erivo said in the interview.

Since coming out as bisexual, the British movie star has been an example for the people in the LGBTQ+ community fighting for their rights and supporting their agenda. She encourages people to understand who they are by listening to experts to help use the right language and terminologies while referring to their sexuality.

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Erivo admits that most people- herself included not know the right words to use until they hear from someone else. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 necessarily know the language until someone says these are words that you might want to use, these are expressions you might want to use, here is some space for you so you can speak about yourself without someone else telling you,鈥� Erivo said referring to her life as a teenager before she knew she was bisexual.

coming out in public has had a positive impact on the LGBTQ+ community because Erivo is an outspoken woman whose power and influence would go a long way to help this minority group enjoy their life. She does not think that constant justification by LGBTQ+ people is necessary because they are human beings just like the rest of the population.

鈥淟GBTQ+ people still feel the need to be constantly justifying why we deserve to be treated as equal beings when the only difference is that we love differently and we express ourselves differently,鈥� she said during the interview with Vogue insisting that equal treatment would be fair for the group.

The singer says that coming out and showing the world who one truly is should be treated as an act of courage and allow LGBTQ+ people to love the way they do.

鈥淩ather than being chastised for that, we should be commended for being brave. That’s the most important thing: giving people the space to show up fully as who they are,鈥� she said.

However, before speaking to British Vogue in 2022, Erivo had previously said that she was queer during her interview with Evening Standard. The video of her song The Good attracted attention from the media and her fans across the world. In the video, two black women are in a romantic situation which raises more questions.

However, when Erivo was interviewed, she said that the song was not speaking about her story despite acknowledging that she is queer.

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鈥� It’s not necessarily autobiographical, but I am queer,鈥� she said in the interview when asked about the video of her song.

鈥淚 have never felt like I necessarily needed to come out, just because no one ever really asked. People make assumptions. No one’s ever really assumed that I’m straight! I don’t think anyone thinks of me as a person who has relationships that aren’t platonic! So I’ve never needed to even really discuss anything about my sexuality at all,鈥� Erivo said in the interview.

The actress has since become an important figure among the LGBTQ+ community where she strongly advocates for equal rights and being treated equally. She also advised those who want to help the LGBTQ+ community to be proud of their selves and their family members. Finding friends from the community would help one settle fast and begin a new chapter in life; according to Erivo.