As Cynthia Erivo accepted her honors at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood awards, she offered up words of affirmation for the Black women that filled the ballroom, encouraging everyone to dream big and to “take up space.”
“I know that some of us in this room are still waiting for permission to be, to own every facet of what makes us, us. Let me be the one to say, ‘Stop hiding,’” Erivo told the crowd, assembled at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon. “The thing I have learned in this wonderful moment in my life is that if you do it your way, no one can take it from you.”
Erivo — who was honored alongside Teyana Taylor, Raamla Mohamed, Marla Gibbs and Tyra Banks — began her speech by reading a quote that Essence posted shortly after “Wicked” hit theaters. The story characterized her performance as the young witch Elphaba, who is ostracized for being born with green skin, as a character that “speaks to the heart of every Black woman who has ever been judged and misunderstood and yet still, learned that her power was a gift all along.”
With that idea front of mind, Erivo used her time to encourage the audience of Black talent, creatives and executives to tap into their own power.
“You weren’t insane when you were dreaming of being a superhero. You weren’t asking too much when you wanted to be seen for the lead,” Erivo said. “When you were little and you believed you could fly, that wasn’t a fairy tale. When you look at the mirror and the thought crosses your mind, if only for a fleeting moment, that you might be in possession of powerful magic, entertain that thought. Do not dismiss it, nourish it, because it’s free. When you walk into a room and people stare, my darling, you have an audience now. Give them what they came for.”
Taking a beat to allow the sentiment to sink in (and for the applause to die down), Erivo then said: “It’s not easy to believe that any dream you have is possible, but if you happen to be sat listening to a bald-headed Black Brit, born in South London to a single mom. If you happen to be sat listening to a 30-something-year-old, proud alt Black girl with a gap in her smile, a wide nose and high cheek bones, then you happen to be listening to a woman whose dreams materialized in real time before your very eyes.”
As the crowd murmured their own affirmations of “Mmhmm” and “yes” back, Erivo wrapped up her remarks: “I got to fly and now the skies are waiting for you too … I hope and pray that those dreams you keep tucked away rise to the surface. I hope those dreams you dare to dream, really do come true.”
Erivo received her award from Keke Palmer, bringing things full circle from Sunday at the NAACP Image Awards when Palmer made a point to shout out the “Wicked” star (and perform her iconic “Defying Gravity” riff) while accepting the Entertainer of the Year trophy. Erivo thanked Palmer for that gesture, which she said lifted her spirits amid the exhaustion of awards season, as well as the “many times that you have celebrated me, even when it’s meant to be your moment. It’s a very selfless thing to do.”
The memeable interaction also invoked another pair of Black women loving on one another — Whitney Houston and Natalie Cole at the 1991 American Music Awards. Because that’s one thing about Black women: we’re going to big up one another.
The special event, hosted by “Cross” star Aldis Hodge as the token male ally in the room, celebrated Black women every which way — which meant witnessing Issa Rae salute her fellow Emmy-nominated TV creator Mohamed (“Reasonable Doubt,” “Little Fires Everywhere”) by sharing that she’d been a fan since she was a 12 year old schoolgirl dreaming of becoming friends with Mohamed and her clique of cool, older girls. In the same spirit, Mohamed then shouted out nearly three dozen Black women writers — from Yvette Lee Bowser, Shonda Rimes and Courtney Kemp, to Lena Waithe, Robin Thede and Natasha Rothwell — for “surviving and thriving” and inspiring her despite the challenges they all face. “All we have is each other,” Mohamed declared, as the audience cheered raucously.
Then there was the way Niecy Nash Betts delivered a poetic tribute to her friend Taylor, lauding the multifaceted artist for her talent as an actor, musician, choreographer and more; for her resilience amid personal strife; and, of course, for her killer body. “Now we will buy the lingerie, but Teyana, do the abs come with it?” Nash Betts joked, referencing Taylor’s new collection with Victoria’s Secret.
Speaking of model looks, another highlight came as Tyra Banks tearfully thanked her mom, Carolyn London, for not allowing her to quit when she struggled making her name in Paris as a teen and for encouraging her to sign a major modeling contract, despite the fact that she’d be making 90% less than a model with a lower Q score. “Perception is reality,” her mother told her about the upside of agreeing to the deal. “You’re going to sign that and you’re going to be everywhere. And that perception is going to make that next check what you are truly worth. And she was right.”
Reflecting on her career, Banks added: “I’m so excited that I, and so many of us, have opened that door for others to follow. And now my 51-year-old dimpled, cellulite, bigger tummy, 10 million times bigger titties, is walking through that door that I opened, with all of us behind us on that runway saying, ‘Baby it’s just beginning.’”
Scroll for a look inside this year’s ceremony, which will stream on Essence’s YouTube channel beginning March 3:
Teyana Taylor poses on the carpet.
Christopher Polk for Variety
Tyra Banks and Laverne Cox pose for photographers
Christopher Polk for Variety
Raamla Mohamed and Issa Rae smile onstage.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Aldis Hodge hosts the ceremony.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Tichina Arnold and Angela Gibbs, daughter of Marla Gibbs, pose backstage with “The Jeffersons” and “227” actor’s award.
Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Joy Reid speaks onstage during the ceremony.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Lena Waithe and Jodie Turner-Smith pose inside the event.
Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Marsai Martin smiles for photographers.
Christopher Polk for Variety
Ryan Destiny poses on the carpet.
Christopher Polk for Variety
Jonathan Majors, Meagan Good, Kat Graham, Tracy Oliver and Tyler Lepley attend the ceremony.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Tyla arrives on the carpet.
Christopher Polk for Variety
Taraji P. Henson, Gabourey Sidibe, Jurnee Smollett and Ruth Negga smile backstage after previewing their upcoming documentary “Number One on the Call Sheet.”
Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Natasha Rothwell smiles on the carpet.
Christopher Polk
Niecy Nash Betts, Jessica Betts, Scott Evans and Yvette Nicole Brown pose inside the ceremony.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Zoe Kravitz poses on the carpet.
Christopher Polk for Variety
Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo smile inside the event.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Marianne Jean-Baptiste poses on the carpet.
Christopher Polk for Variety
Bianca Lawson and Dominique Fishback smile inside the ceremony.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE
Karen Pittman poses on the carpet.
Christopher Polk for Variety
Afton Williamson, Cynthia Bailey, Kym Whitley, Wendy Raquel Robinson and Nina Parker pose inside the event.
Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for ESSENCE
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