Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo is opening up about her sexuality and standing up for LGBTQ+ rights as she comes out as bisexual.
35 year old Erivo sat down with British Vogue for its August 2022 Pride issue, which also features and 11 other LGBTQ+ creatives and stars. During her interview, Erivo admits that it took her a while to reveal her bisexuality.
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Cynthia Erivo and Lena Waithe’s Alleged Affair
If you’ll recall Erivo was allegedly caught up in a love affair between writer, producer and director Lena Waithe and her then wife Alana Mayo.
Waithe and Mayo became engaged in 2017 and in 2019, they got married in San Francisco, California. Two months later they split.
In January 2020, rumors began to swirl of Waithe reportedly dating Erivo after her split from Mayo. In November 2020, Mayo officially filed for divorce.
Since the initial rumors, there has been nothing but speculation about Waithe and Erivo being a couple. Additionally, neither of them have ever acknowledged the status of their relationship.
As recent as June 2022, Waithe and Erivo were seen holding hands at a gala. But, still no comment on their relationship.
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Cynthia Erivo Comes Out As Bisexual, Says LGBTQ+ Should Be ‘Commended For Being Brave’
A month after being spotted holding hands with Lena Waithe, Cynthia Erivo’s feature in British Vogue finds her finally accepting who she is and publicly acknowledging it.
She says, “[LGBTQ+ people] still feel the need to be constantly justifying why we deserve to be treated as equal beings, when really the only difference is that we love differently and we express ourselves differently.”
She added, “Rather 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.”
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Erivo also dished out some advice to anyone who is wanting to help out the LGBTQ+ community, but not exactly sure how to “find their queer family and sit and chat with them.”
Also, Erivo took to her Instagram to celebrate her new cover and recent news.
She shared the 3 page Vogue cover and captioned the post: “Nerves and fear have gotten 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. Thank you @edward_enninful for giving me the space and loving on me. A dream come true to grace the cover of @britishvogue with incredible people.“
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Cynthia Erivo Admitted She Was Queer Before Coming Out As Bisexual
Prior to Erivo’s recent sit down, she previously spoke about being queer in an interview with the Evening Standard back in 2021.
While referring to her music video for “The Good,” which portrays a same-sex relationship, Erivo said, “It’s not necessarily autobiographical. But I am queer.”
She added, “I 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 that has relationships that aren’t platonic! So I’ve never needed to even really discuss anything about my sexuality at all.”
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