Thoughts on Cynthia Erivo- Page 2

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 7:19am

^Well, I wouldn't go as far as too say that, but yes, it could hurt her career.  It's very tense right now in America and in the UK and everyone's a bit on edge, but she's really very confrontational on Twitter without much of a reason to be.  It's getting pretty old, but I do understand why she would like to be considered for more roles than just the black gospel greek chorus member #3.  She'd like to play wholesome and human parts and I understand her opinion there, but she doesn't need to bitch out a fan on Twitter over it.  It's just unprofessional.

Also, I can't recall her posting anything that could be considered "racist."  Most of her posts about race involve her expressing pride and love for her skin color and her culture, which isn't a bad thing at all.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 7:27am

The whole point of her fight to a fan in this case is racist. 

[binau]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 7:30am

Which fight/fan?

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 7:40am

qolbinau said: "Which fight/fan?

 

"

On twitter, some people were dream casting Hercules and mentioning their favorites. Somebody mentioned that she would love to see/hear Cynthia as one of the muses. Cynthia turned it into  a racial slam. She felt it was an "ensemble" role, and below her as a black woman.

Updated On: 8/6/17 at 07:40 AM

[mullein]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:07am

I agree that she's prone to overreacting on social media and needlessly picking up fights with trolls but the talk of her nastiness is highly exaggerated... She's allowed to stand up for what she thinks is right. I've had several exchanges with her over Twitter and she's always been gracious.

[Wick3]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:09am

I think she's a phenomenal singer. Had Color Purple opened this season, however, I think Bette Midler would have still beaten Cynthia for the Tony.

On Social media, I used to follow her but had to unfollow her after the Oak drama.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:13am

She's an amazing singer and talent. Her Celie was one of the most memorable performances I've ever seen. I don't really follow her on social media.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:18am

I think she's a nice singer, but I don't want to have anything to do with her personality. It seems like she was raised in a way that did not prepare her for sensible reasoning later in life, which results in the most bizarre situations now, pulling the race card in inappropriate situations, fighting against equality and being rude to fans and misinterpreting situations to an embarrassing point.

So I will listen to her singing, but not to what she has to say anymore.

Updated On: 8/6/17 at 08:18 AM

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:28am

I love Cynthia Erivo and think she is a highly talented woman.

While her opinions aren't for everyone (I tend to agree with her), I find her passion and ability to use the platform she has to raise awareness of what has been a problem with theatrical casting for decades very awe-inspiring.

Even if some think it will pose a detriment to her career, if she gets the opportunity to see change on stage or in people's hearts and minds in her lifetime, I guarantee it will have been worth it for her.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:33am

quizking101 said: "Even if some think it will pose a detriment to her career, if she gets the opportunity to see change on stage or in people's hearts and minds in her lifetime, I guarantee it will have been worth it for her."

Her attitude will not inflict change. But the opposite.

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:37am

Dave28282 said: "quizking101 said: "Even if some think it will pose a detriment to her career, if she gets the opportunity to see change on stage or in people's hearts and minds in her lifetime, I guarantee it will have been worth it for her."

Her attitude will not inflict change. But the opposite.

 

 

"

That is your opinion. Even if it doesn't produce direct change, it plants the seed for later.

[BlackElleWoods]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:39am

I was such a huge fan of hers & when I heard she was coming to Broadway to do the color purple she was all my family and friends heard about . Here lately It's a totally different story . It seems like everything is an argument with her. I don't even tweet to her anymore bc 9/10 it'll result in an argument or a block . She was more humble before the Tony . 

 

And the stuff with Great Comet ! OMG !!!! She completely turned that into something racial (like always) & now that everyone is telling her about herself on twitter she's trying to turn it into "support for oak" 

give me a break ! 

[BlackElleWoods]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:40am

She was also unnecessarily rude to fans when they were asking her if she would tour with the color purple or play Celie again . 

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:42am

quizking101 said: "That is your opinion. Even if it doesn't produce direct change, it plants the seed for later."

On topic, what change in this case? That it's right to attack a fangirl on twitter who didn't fanfiction cast her in her desired role because she's above the role as a black woman?

Yes it plants seeds, but not in the way you think it does.

 

Updated On: 8/6/17 at 08:42 AM

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 8:55am

BlackElleWoods said: "She was also unnecessarily rude to fans when they were asking her if she would tour with the color purple or play Celie again . 

 

As a black woman, what are your opinions on her turning everything into a race argument? Specifically the fact she said she won't thank a white man for stereotyping black woman when she was mentioned as a muse but when she was mentioned as Meg with three other black women as the muses she actually thanked the white man?

 

[BlackElleWoods]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 9:00am

Plannietink08 said: "BlackElleWoods said: "She was also unnecessarily rude to fans when they were asking her if she would tour with the color purple or play Celie again . 

 

As a black woman, what are your opinions on her turning everything into a race argument? Specifically the fact she said she won't thank a white man for stereotyping black woman when she was mentioned as a muse but when she was mentioned as Meg with three other black women as the muses she actually thanked the white man?

 

 

"

That was when the moment I unfollowed her . As soon as she got dream cast in the lead role her whole "stop stereotyping black women" argument went out the window and she was satisfied . One of her london co stars said the exact same thing to her about it as well . It was very disappointing for me . 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 9:06am

Uh ... playing devil's advocate here ... if her big breakout role weren't Celie, would there be such a negative reaction to her social media? I think Celie is such a warm, likable character that people got mixed up.

I only say this because there are some much-admired comedians who are notoriously rude to fans. Not just on social media, but everywhere. But everyone's like "oh they're comedians, miserable people" blah blah blah.

I have also seen Laura Benanti and Javier Munoz (two artists I admire greatly) be rather tetchy on social media. They don't make things racial but they are extremely rude sometimes. But I don't see them getting the backlash of Erivo.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 9:06am

Plannietink08 said: "

As a black woman, what are your opinions on her turning everything into a race argument? Specifically the fact she said she won't thank a white man for stereotyping black woman when she was mentioned as a muse but when she was mentioned as Meg with three other black women as the muses she actually thanked the white man? "

This is bad. As soon as she "hypothetically" gets the lead role as a black woman, nothing else matters anymore. Even her previous statement about black muses being "not done" is now out of the window, because when she is the black lead, it's also better to have black muses than to have anything white at all. This double agenda makes me nauseous and is the epitome of racism.

 

Updated On: 8/6/17 at 09:06 AM

[Audrey33]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 9:15am

Javier absolutely gets as much backlash as Cynthia for his Twitter behavior, there was a thread about him a few weeks ago like this one.

Benanti can be snappy, but she's not starting arguments on a weekly basis like the other two.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 10:03am

There's one more thing I need to get off my chest. 

The role of Meg in Hercules is a very specific type. Looks wise she is very feminine, attractive, sexy, slim, like a pin-up girl, and her poise and aura is also very sexy, mysterious, cynical but also witty, snarky and world-weary. Also her vocal type needs to be very specific, sharp and sexy.

I can imagine some fanfic/dreamcast people coming up with Laura Benanti as meg as she fits some of these traits. But Cynthia, TOTALLY the wrong type, she does not have any of these traits and has the wrong vocal type.

What on earth makes Cynthia think that anyone should dreamcast her in the role, other than the fact that it's a lead role and that she is black?

Because the idea is just ridiculous. The fact that everything in her mind and life is lead by race does not mean we have to take it seriously in the normal world. Cynthia as Meg, what the hell are we talking about? And how on earth can she demand fans on twitter to dreamcast her in something she is not by a mile?

I think what it comes down to is this; Cynthia views everything through race, other people realize there's more to reasoning and life in general.

Updated On: 8/6/17 at 10:03 AM

[bossbear062]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 10:07am

I'm not here to excuse bad behavior or rudeness but I think this is a sad that when people of color speak their truths of their own lives. I don't think you guys are taking into account the difficulty and the societal burden of what it is to be a black female in this world. Let alone one that's an actress. If you don't care about her as a performer then that's perfectly fine. But think twice before reacting. There are many women of color in her position that would react the same way. Instead of getting angry at her ask yourself "why does this successful woman feel this way". Check your own privileges and then put her anger and frustration into the historical and societal context of the uphill battle that folks of color have to face everyday. Don't just chuck it aside as "ego". There have been plenty of white women who have spoken their minds in the past and they are celebrated for it. It's so sad when folks of color speak their minds, speak on their passion and their hearts they are cast aside as problematic. 

Updated On: 8/6/17 at 10:07 AM

[bossbear062]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 10:13am

rosscoe(au) said: "Not wild at all , just calling out a racist. Simple as that. 

Sometimes the truth hurts other times it sets you free 

 

Calling a black person racist is also not correct. Prejudice and or bigoted yes. But racist is a completely different and more complex meaning that historically does not apply to black people. Especially in western society. 

 

"

 

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 10:19am

Do I agree with everything Cynthia says on Twitter? Absolutely not, and I'm not a sycophant who'll join feuds on her behalf, unless I truly have an opinion on the matter. That being said, even though I think many of her arguments go on way too long, they're generally well-composed, unlike Javier's, which are sometimes so off the rails that it seems as if his account has been hijacked. I usually like to keep it light on Twitter, and, whenever I've communicated with Cynthia, she's always been very gracious with me. 

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 10:22am

I agree, bossbear206. However, like we've been discussing she actively asks everyone to go and read the entire conversation, which I did, and what I saw was Cynthia arguing the face off anyone who suggested her as a second rate character. She claims it's a race issue by placing her and four other women as a Muse but when Playbill published an article naming Cynthia as the lead role with five other black women as the Muses she retweets it and seems over the moon with the suggestion. 

 

 

 

She actually said to a follower that she wouldn't thank someone for stereotyping black women but then proceeds to thank someone for stereotyping black women. Cynthia seems to forget all about equality and stereotyping black women as as long as she gets the lead. She uses inequality as a thinly veiled argument any injustice that places her below the top spot because she knows that no one can argue with privilidge or race. If that exact same follower who initially suggested her as a muse suggested her as Meg then she'd have been his best friend. 

 

 

 

Its admirable that that she is so dedicated to creating equality but shouting about male privilege everytime someone doesn't water her ego flower isn't the way to achieve equality. Even her friends and colleagues are calling her out for it. 

 

 

 

I personally know Daniel Boys, one of the performers who called her hypocrisy out, and he is one of the most loving and gentle people on the planet. He'd never actively encourage confrontation so for him to speak out about it, for me, speaks volumes about her character and her behaviour. 

Updated On: 8/6/17 at 10:22 AM

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/6/17 at 10:36am

bossbear062 said: "Calling a black person racist is also not correct."

 Stop right there. Any person can be racist. Many black people are racist. 

Racism is discrimination and prejudice towards people based on their race or ethnicity. (Which Cynthia does here)

In human social affairs, discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person based on the group, class, or category to which the person is perceived to belong rather than on individual attributes. (which Cynthia does here)

Prejudice is an affective feeling toward a person or group member based solely on their group membership (which Cynthia does here).

Updated On: 8/6/17 at 10:36 AM