Cynthia Erivo says they/them pronouns have been around ‘since the dawn of time’ in powerful speech

Cynthia Erivo loudly proclaimed her support for the non-binary community at the GLAAD Awards (Getty)

Wicked star Cynthia Erivo was honoured at the 2025 GLAAD Media Awards yesterday (Thursday 27 March) and she delivered a powerful acceptance speech while on stage.

The 36th annual GLAAD Media Awards, hosted by Michael Urie, took place in Los Angeles and aimed to celebrate the best in LGBTQ+ media.

Cynthia Erivo was awarded the Stephen F. Kolzak award, which is given to an “openly queer member of the entertainment or media community for their work toward eliminating homophobia”.

The award is named in honour of a Los Angeles casting director who devoted his life to fighting homophobia and HIV stigma within the entertainment industry.

Erivo, who is bisexual, then used her speaking time to encourage people to be their true selves.

She said: “I have spoken about being your whole self and your true self. I speak about the prizes that come from being you against (the) odds.”

“But rarely do I acknowledge how hard it can be. So I thought that I would make some room for those of us who are trying to find the courage to exist as we want, because I think this is the space to do that.

Erivo said that it “isn’t easy” to take up space as a queer person and wake up each day “choosing to be yourself”.

She went on to list a litany of other things it “isn’t easy” to do as a queer person, including: “proclaiming a space belongs to you when you don’t feel welcomed, teaching people a daily basis how to address you, and dealing with the frustration of reteaching people a word that has been in the human vocabulary since the dawn of time: they/them.”

Erivo also said she was “proud” of those who felt that they could be open about their sexuality and urged everyone to consider the people who do not feel “seen” within the LGBTQ+ community or by those outside of it.

Erivo is in a relationship with actress, producer, and screenwriter Lena Waithe. They have been together since 2020 but first met at the 2018 Met Gala.

Erivo was recently nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars for her role in Wicked while her co-star Ariana Grande was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.