The Color Purple star Cynthia Erivo has opened up about her coming out journey in a new interview.
Back in July, the Wicked star surprised fans when she publically came out as bisexual in the August issue of British Vogue.
“[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 told the publication.
“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.”
Shortly after the issue was released, Erivo took to Instagram to celebrate the occasion in a heartwarming 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,” she wrote.
Two months after her landmark announcement, the Grammy winner gave further insight into her journey during her recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
“I don’t think I had the language to even know what was going on. It’s come much later to me now and it’s wonderful to just be me, really,” she explained.
“I think it’s sort of made space creatively to just sort of let go of whatever I was hiding. You know, you don’t realize you’re doing that, putting so much energy behind it.
“And once you take the energy away from concealing something that is such a part of you that you can’t hide it, you can put it elsewhere and make more wonderful things.”
Erivo also expressed the importance of giving individuals exploring their LGBTQ+ identity time to describe themselves, stating: “Sometimes we assume every queer person knows it from the beginning.
“Most of us do, but we don’t 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.”
We love to see Erivo thriving and happily living in her truth.
Watch the Tony winner’s full interview here or below.
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