Cynthia Erivo Championed By Lena Waithe With Reposts of ‘Wicked’ Praise
While leaving the Wicked spotlight to her partner, the film’s co-lead Cynthia Erivo, actress and screenwriter Lena Waithe had nothing but praise for the British entertainer.
Following the debut of Wicked: Part One last Friday, November 22, as People reports, on Sunday, November 24, the Twenties creator uplifted Erivo with Instagram Story reposts of praise given to the musical fantasy epic. In addition to clips, behind-the-scenes photos, and articles that focus on Erivo and her portrayal as Elphaba in the Jon M. Chu-directed film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Waithe also proudly shared a promo dedicated to the new blockbuster. In its opening weekend, Wicked topped the box office, making $164 million in ticket sales globally and making history as the biggest opening weekend for a Broadway film adaptation, both domestically and internationally.
On Saturday, November 9, Waite attended the Los Angeles premiere of Wicked in support of Erivo, with an Instagram post of herself wearing a green suit and referencing Elphaba’s standout song from the musical. “Tonight we defy gravity,” Erivo captioned the Instagram carousel.
Although Waithe and Erivo haven’t publicly confirmed when they began dating, they reportedly met in May 2018 at the Met Gala.
“The first time I met her was at the Met Gala, which is where all the cool kids go to meet each other,” Waithe told Variety in 2020. “I had seen her in The Color Purple [Broadway adaptation] twice, I remember seeing her on TV when Oprah [Winfrey] talked about doing it and her being on the screen, I remember [thinking], ‘Who is this tiny person with a British accent?’ We’ve just been vibing ever since.”