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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.