Cynthia Speech

essencemagazine

3/13/2025

Transcript

00:00Go on and look at it. Go on and get it.

00:03Hey guys!

00:06Thank you Aldis. It's always good to see him.

00:09So wait a minute, let me see where I'm looking at. Where's my girl?

00:12Cynthia.

00:15Cynthia Erivo.

00:18Okay, I'm not sure that there's much that I can say that I haven't already said,

00:21but you know, here it goes.

00:24While most of the world was dazzled by you first

00:27in the Broadway musical The Color Purple,

00:30for me, it was Harriet.

00:33Man, I was with a girlfriend of mine

00:36and she lives for a We Will Overcome moment, so I was a little bit

00:39concerned because I was not in the mood to be mad

00:42at America again. But she insisted that

00:45this wasn't that, so I was like, okay, okay, let me watch the movie.

00:48And she was right.

00:51The depth of emotion displayed

00:54while still portraying Harriet with so much pride,

00:57it gave me chills.

01:00So much so that I had to DM you on Instagram to let you know

01:03how much I was moved by your ability to be both

01:06strong, vulnerable, and honorable.

01:09Then, my father told me

01:12he loved you in Aretha.

01:15Then my dear friend Naomi Ackie told me you had been killing it

01:18since you attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts,

01:21back in England, of course.

01:24As one of the very few black women

01:27that have gotten in, something I know that you are currently

01:30working on the board to change, so bravo to that.

01:33So,

01:36there was so much chatter about Wicked, right?

01:39My girls and I were all talking about the press tour

01:42and with all the crying you and Ariana was doing, I didn't know if I was going to see

01:45a musical or a drama.

01:48But little did I know, it was both.

01:51Girl, why was I

01:54sobbing in the theater?

01:57Why do you have me sobbing and holding my head up high?

02:00This is why you are one of my favorite actresses

02:03because I see me in you.

02:06I do get my feelings heard.

02:09I do want to be liked. But I'm nobody's victim.

02:12And I will never let anyone change the lightness

02:15in my step and the crack in my smile.

02:18And you possess and inject that fire

02:21into all your characters.

02:24I held my mother's hand in that scene where Alphaba

02:27is falling out the sky and she sees that little her.

02:30The innocence that's lost

02:33so early in womanhood or feeling invisible

02:36or just being the minority.

02:39We must always fight to protect that little person

02:42that knows they are more than what the world

02:45has told them they could be.

02:48You do this, Cynthia.

02:51You do this in life.

02:54And you have done this in art.

02:57And I was one of those children that believed because of art.

03:00And you keep me believing.

03:03And so many others. Please never stop.

03:06I am so proud of you and I am so happy

03:09to be here to honor you and give you this much

03:12deserved award. As I have said once

03:15and I'll say it again, Cynthia Erivo

03:18you are truly remarkable.

03:26With a voice that pierces the soul

03:29Cynthia Erivo transports audiences into

03:32mesmerizing realms of brilliance.

03:35Whether she's commanding the Broadway stage, delivering

03:38performances on screen or writing and performing

03:41Oscar nominated songs like Stand Up from Harriet

03:44Cynthia consistently pushes the boundaries of artistic

03:47expression. Her transformative performances

03:50have earned her the highest of accolades across multiple

03:53industries. Including a Tony Award

03:56a Grammy Award and a Daytime Emmy Award

03:59placing her and Oscar away from the coveted

04:02EGOT status. I love being able to act

04:05and play these characters and be a vessel for another person's

04:08story. I love being able to connect both of those

04:11dots and use music and words

04:14as an emotional highway.

04:17The awards are beautiful, happy

04:20cherries on top of a really full

04:23working system.

04:26Her portrayal of Elphaba in Wicked showcases not

04:29only her vocal talents but also her physical

04:32commitment as she performed her own stunts.

04:35I tend to pick roles that give me the chance

04:38to work really hard to get at

04:41the center of who they are.

04:43This undaunted dedication earned her a second

04:46Academy Award nomination for Best Actress

04:49making her only the second Black actress after

04:52Viola Davis to achieve multiple nominations in this category.

04:55The thing that I hope that Black women and Black

04:58girls take away, you don't necessarily have to wait

05:01for someone to see who you are to be celebrated

05:04and step into what you think might be your destiny.

05:07In her newly attained title of Vice President of

05:10our alma mater, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art,

05:13Cynthia is molding tomorrow's visionaries to fulfill

05:16their own destinies. I love meeting

05:19the new students, so I'm looking forward to hopefully

05:22being able to pay for people to go to school.

05:25Cynthia is doing much more than breaking

05:28barriers on screen and in her community. She's cementing

05:31her place as one of the most transformative

05:34and unstoppable forces in entertainment history.

05:37If you keep showing up, if you keep being who you are,

05:40eventually no one can really question it.

05:50Cynthia, it is my distinct honor to present

05:53you with the 2025 Essence Black

05:56Women in Hollywood Cultural Icon Award.

06:26Oh my goodness, I didn't know I was going to feel this emotional.

06:47This year has been, first of all,

06:50thank you Kiki.

06:54Not just for today, not just for here and now,

06:57but for the many times that you have

07:00celebrated, even when it's meant to be

07:03your moment, it's a very selfless thing to do.

07:08And when you did that at the NAACP Awards,

07:11that was a particular day, I was just so exhausted.

07:14And that really lifted me, so I want to say thank you for that.

07:17It was a really, really meaningful thing to do.

07:24This year has been a deluge of gifts

07:27and a rainfall of love, and I've been

07:30rendered speechless by it all.

07:33I could stand here and revel in it all, but that's just

07:36the least of it. And what I have learned

07:39was actually meant, I was actually meant to be used for

07:42is actually the crux of the whole thing,

07:45not just the gifts.

07:48So I'll start here. On November

07:5125th, 2024, three days after

07:54Wicked Head graced the cinema screens worldwide,

07:57Essence posted these words.

08:00In a world that often tries to define us by its narrow

08:03lenses, you have soared.

08:06Elphaba's journey as a woman seen as different

08:09and cast aside for the very thing that makes her

08:12unique speaks to the heart of every Black woman

08:15who has ever been judged and misunderstood,

08:18and yet still learned that her power

08:21was her gift all along.

08:24So I thought that I, Cynthia,

08:27would speak to your hearts.

08:30I wanted to take this opportunity as more than

08:33an opportunity to accept this beautiful award

08:36and honor, and I wanted to use it

08:39as a way to affirm you all.

08:42You weren't insane when you were dreaming

08:45of being a superhero.

08:48You weren't asking too much when you wanted

08:51to be seen for the lead.

08:54When you were little and you believed you could fly,

08:57that wasn't a fairy tale.

09:00When you look at the mirror and the thought

09:03crosses your mind, if only for a fleeting moment

09:06that you might be in possession of powerful magic,

09:09entertain that thought.

09:12Do not dismiss it.

09:15Nourish it, because it's real.

09:18When you walk into a room

09:21and people stare, my darlings,

09:24you have

09:27an audience now.

09:30Give them what they came for.

09:33Take the space.

09:36It's yours for the taking.

09:39You belong there.

09:42I know that some of us in this room

09:45are still waiting for the permission to be,

09:48to own every facet

09:51of what makes us, us.

09:54Let me be the one to say

09:57that you are not alone.

10:00Let me be the one to say

10:03be.

10:06Stop hiding.

10:09The thing I have learned in this wonderful moment

10:12in my life is that if you do it your way,

10:15no one can take it from you.

10:23We get so afraid of what love we might lose

10:26if we choose to simply show up as ourselves,

10:29but the truth is any love you lose because of that

10:32was never yours to have in the first place.

10:38And I personally want love that is true

10:41and steadfast and accepting

10:44and celebratory and long-lasting

10:47and encouraging and mine.

10:50It's not easy to believe

10:53that any dream you have is possible,

10:56but if you happen to be sat listening

10:59to a bald-headed black Brit

11:02born in South London to a single mum,

11:05if you happen to be sat listening

11:08to a 30-something-year-old

11:11proud alt-black girl

11:14with a gap in her smile,

11:17a wide nose and high cheekbones,

11:20then you happen to be listening to a woman

11:23before your very eyes.

11:26I got to fly,

11:29and now the skies are waiting for you too.

11:41So believe me when I say this last thing.

11:44I hope and pray

11:47that those dreams you keep tucked away rise to the surface.

11:50I hope that the dreams you dare to dream

11:53really do come true.

11:56It is an honour to share this moment

11:59with three exquisite human beings.

12:02Tiana, Ramla, Miss Mala,

12:05you are exemplary.

12:08And the world sees something

12:11that I don't see.

12:14I see something else.

12:17Ramla, I see the funny,

12:20insanely obsessive

12:23musical theatre kid in you

12:26that nobody knows exists but I do.

12:29And Tiana, that soft spirit

12:32that you don't get to share all the time

12:35because you're making sure that everyone's OK.

12:38The bravery it takes

12:41to take on a role like you did in 1001

12:44when you haven't done something like that before

12:47is a big, massive step towards

12:50what I'm so excited to see of you.

12:53There's so much more, and Oscar's waiting for you, my sweet.

13:02I kept trying to think about what else I might say,

13:05but I really just wanted to be here

13:08to celebrate everyone who's in this room

13:11because I know how hard it is to get up in the morning

13:14when you think the world's against you.

13:17And even when the lights are sparkling

13:20and the fashion is on and the makeup is done,

13:23there are days when you think,

13:26how am I going to do this?

13:29But you do, and I commend you for it

13:32because there are days when no one commends us for it.

13:35So let today be the day

13:38that Cynthia Erivo said you're amazing.

13:49Don't let anyone tell you that you're anything less than that,

13:52and if they do, don't listen.

13:55It's not worth your time.

13:58You have so much more to do

14:01than listen to that nonsense.

14:04I love you, and thank you.

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