Cynthia Erivo confesses she still fears offending people by using 'the word queer'

Actress Cynthia Erivo recently opened up during an episode of the Reign podcast about how much "fear and trepidation" she felt when coming out and how much comfort she got from talking to her queer Wicked co-stars.

The Elphaba actress — who came out as bisexual in Vogue in 2022 and described herself as "Black, bald-headed, pierced, and queer" at the Los Angeles LGBT Center gala earlier this year — said on the Reign with Josh Smith podcast that while she used to worry that she would "offend people," she now feels "very powerful."

"I feel very powerful. I feel very, very in my skin, in my body. And I love it," she explained, the Daily Mailreported. "And I think the thing that has been really heartening is watching other young people go, 'oh my gosh, She's like me. She gets it.'"

Erivo also talked about the importance of young people getting the chance to see good queer representation in media.

"There's something really wonderful about watching someone who is just living, enjoying her life, working, creating, and just being," she said. "I think that that's something that I don't take for granted at all, but I do think it's important for other young queer people who just are trying to find their way to themselves to see."

Despite the joy she's found since coming out publicly, there have still been points when she's worried about using "the word queer" because it may offend people.

"It's been a really interesting journey also, because sometimes you approach it with a fair amount of trepidation like, 'Are people going to be okay with me? How are people going to be, if I say the word queer, are people going to be offended?' And then you sort of stop caring that much about that cause it's just who I am. It's just part of the tapestry of the human being that is in front of you.'"
Erivo also cautioned against letting the things people say about you affect you because "most of those words are just reflections of themselves, of other people" and said that eventually, "you get to a place where you find yourself feeling comfortable enough to take that version of who you see into every room you walk into."

She continued, "Don't change them. Don't shift. Don't bend. Just be. I've learned to really enjoy being and like watching people just accept it."

The 37-year-old actress explained that having intimate chats with her fellow LGBTQ+ Wicked co-stars Jonathan Bailey and Lena Waithe about the queer experience really helped her.

"I've had some really good chats with Johnny Bailey. I've had some wonderful chats with Lena Waithe who is a good friend as well… just thoughtful deductions of what the world is and I think that's what we end up talking about," she said. "Johnny and I had a really wonderful conversation about queerness and what that means for us and how we move through the world in our own queerness," Erivo recounted.

"He's so passionate about making sure that there's space for all of us… I think it was like an eye opening conversation because it was the first time I really got to know him and I really liked that human being."