Cynthia Erivo has responded to the backlash she received for her upcoming lead role in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl.
After it was announced earlier this year that the Wicked star would be playing Jesus in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical, some conservatives were quick to criticize her for taking the role as a Black queer woman. However, during a recent interview with Billboard, Erivo couldn’t help but laugh at the negative response.
“Why not?” she said of her casting. “You can’t please everyone. It is legitimately a three-day performance at the Hollywood Bowl where I get to sing my face off. So hopefully they will come and realize, ‘Oh, it’s a musical, the gayest place on Earth.’”
The actress will take to the stage at the famed Hollywood venue from Aug. 1-3, alongside Adam Lambert, who is set to play Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar. The musical is a rock opera that follows the final days of Jesus Christ, leading up to his crucifixion, seen through the eyes of his betrayer, Judas. The musical was initially a concept album before making its Broadway debut in 1971. It has also received several revivals over the years, as well as a film adaptation, directed by Norman Jewison, in 1973.
Erivo, who won a Tony for her performance in Broadway’s The Color Purple, has previously played Mary Magdalene in Morgan James’ all-female version of the musical’s concept album.
The Grammy and Emmy winner came out publicly in 2022 on the cover of British Vogue.