‘The biggest dream is never too big. I feel like I’m living proof of that’
Cynthia Erivo is still on a high. It’s five days after a performance at the Hollywood Bowl when we speak, and the sense of occasion of singing at such a famous, “bucket list” venue, coupled with the emotion of seeing thousands of people coming together to hear live music – her music – after so much time away, means she will never forget it.
“I don’t know if I could even find the words to really, truly describe what I experienced,” she says. “Having 7,000 people being brave enough to come out and listen… being in front of that amount of people, seeing people react the way they did. I still can’t believe it happened.”
Now, the actress and singer is “looking forward to continuing that, getting back to audiences and performing live, because it’s definitely the lifeblood for me”.
At 34, British star Erivo is already an Emmy winner, a Grammy winner and a Tony winner, achieving all three in 2016 and 2017 for her starring role in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple. The treble means she is *just* an Oscar away from the rare EGOT status of having all four; and she’s halfway there, receiving a nomination for best actress, for her portrayal of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet, in 2019.
Most recently, Erivo has played her musical hero, Aretha Franklin, one of the greatest vocalists of all time, in the Genius: Aretha series chronicling five decades of the Queen of Soul’s life. It is a role that could see her add to her trophy cabinet at the upcoming 2021 Emmy Awards.
So hers is already an impressive CV, and she is about to add to it with the release of her debut album. After years of performing in character it is her chance, she tells Sky News, to connect with people “directly as me”.
“It will always feel different when you’re not playing someone else,” she says. “It allows me to show a different part of who I am. The more I can connect honestly, the better, I think.”
Titled Ch 1 Vs 1, it’s clear that Erivo sees this as just the beginning of her story. “My life isn’t over yet,” she says. “There’s lots to come, there’s lots to learn, there’s lots to write. This felt like a new beginning for me when it came to music so I wanted to mark that.”
The record is described as a 12-track journey into the star’s mental and emotional landscape – one marked by heartbreak and sadness, but also triumph and growth.
Erivo says she wants people to know she is a “fully rounded person who has thoughts and feelings just like everybody else”. That she has loved and lost. She doesn’t elaborate, but says: “Life isn’t always black and white, there are definitely grey areas, and there are things I’ve dealt with and have had to come through just like everyone else.”
Erivo played Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin in the Genius: Aretha series. Pic: National Geographic/Richard DuCree
Is that something people forget when it comes to celebrity?
“I think sometimes they do,” she says. “But that’s not necessarily just for me, I think that’s across the board. I think that celebrity or fame – for me, those words are so strange because I still don’t really associate them with myself. It makes me feel really weird to refer to myself as a celebrity because it’s not what I did this for. I think people often forget that behind all of the glitz and whatnot, is a human who deals with stuff, it’s just that often that stuff is out in the open.”
The star says when it comes to writing songs, there is nothing wrong with letting your emotions show. “I’m not afraid to be as truthful as I can be, you know. It doesn’t scare me. I guess I kind of am thrilled by being able to be vulnerable in front of people. I think the more I can do it, hopefully other people will be encouraged to be just as vulnerable.”
Erivo’s first single, The Good, was inspired by a conversation with a friend in mourning. “The phrase she said was that she just wanted to remember ‘the good’. I realised that it could be attached to both the loss of someone or a relationship or anything that forces you to think of the best of the worst of times.”
In the video, Erivo portrays a woman remembering the positive memories of a relationship with another woman that has come to an end.
“I wanted to pay homage to Black love, but often we see Black love – and most love – heterosexually,” she says. “I wanted to see something that felt normal, that showed two women in a relationship… and it wasn’t voyeuristic and it wasn’t fetishistic. It was just a normal relationship going through the ups and downs that relationships go through.“
The star, pictured performing at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago in July, says she is performing live is her ‘lifeblood’. Pic: Patrick Gipson
Born and raised in London, Erivo now lives in the US, where her profile is bigger, but still has family and friends back here.
As a star of stage and screen, and soon the charts, I ask how she feels about the government’s treatment of the arts and entertainment industry in the UK during the pandemic. The promise of £1.57bn in funding came four months into the crisis, which many argued was too late, while confirmation of a £750m insurance scheme for festivals only came earlier this month – again, too late for many events for the second year running.
Then there is the plan requiring people to prove double vaccination status when entering nightclubs and other “crowded venues” from the end of September – bizarrely announced just as restrictions were lifted in July – which has been condemned as an “absolute shambles” by industry figures.
“I think there seems to be this terrible battle that keeps going on in the UK when it comes to the arts and I don’t know why it’s difficult for the government to see that the arts are worth taking care of,” Erivo says. “Because people gain so much, everybody gains from it, even commerce gains from it. If there’s art, there’s a reason for people to visit, there’s a reason for people to see it, that means people are spending money to come and see these shows, to see the plays, the films.
“For me personally, I don’t know that anyone should be forced to have a vaccine, everyone is individual and it’s up to them.
“I do hope that we’ll finally get to a place where people deem the arts a necessary thing, because it is, and it’s often how a lot of people survive. And right now, there are people I know for sure in London who are only just getting back to work, only just getting back to shows and rehearsals. And they’ve desperately needed to be back at work and haven’t really been taken care of, and that saddens me. A lot. So I hope that that gets fixed.”
Before our time is up, I ask Erivo about another professional accomplishment that cements her status as a true multi-hyphenate in the industry. She is soon to become a published author, with her debut children’s book, Remember to Dream, Ebere, to be published in a few weeks. It tells the story of a mother and child who is encouraged to dream big.
“I am telling that story for anybody who has a dream, who thinks that things are impossible, who needs to be encouraged to keep dreaming – adults or children,” Erivo says. “I wrote it because it was the thing that I can relate to the most, the idea that the biggest dream is never too big. I feel like I’m living proof of that. I have definitely been able to live within the dreams that I’ve wanted for myself and I guess I wanted to share it with everybody else. I wanted other people to feel like they have that possibility, too.”
Cynthia Erivo’s debut album, Ch 1 Vs 1, will be released on 17 September.
Entertainment
Scarlett Johannsson ‘shocked and angered’ after OpenAI allegedly recreated her voice without consent
Scarlett Johansson has said she was “shocked” and “angered” after OpenAI allegedly recreated her voice without her consent for a new ChatGPT system.
The actress released a statement where she personally criticised the company’s CEO Sam Altman for insinuating she was the voice named ‘Sky’ by posting the word ‘her’ on X, a reference to a film where she voiced an AI which a human fell in love with.
“Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system,” the 39-year-old Oscar nominee said.
“He told me that he felt that by my voicing the system, I could bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives and help consumers to feel comfortable with the seismic shift concerning humans and AI. He said he felt that my voice would be comforting to people.”
She went on to say that eventually for personal reasons she declined his offer then, nine months later, her attention was drawn to how much the “Sky” voice sounded like her.
“When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” Johansson said.
“Mr Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word “her” – a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who forms an intimate relationship with a human.
“Two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was released, Mr Altman contacted my agent, asking me to reconsider. Before we could connect, the system was out there.
“As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal counsel, who wrote two letters to Mr Altman and OpenAI, setting out what they had done and asking them to detail the exact process by which they created the ‘Sky’ voice. Consequently, OpenAI reluctantly agreed to take down the ‘Sky’ voice.”
“In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity. I look forward to resolution in the form of transparency and the passage of appropriate legislation to help ensure that individual rights are protected.”
Sam Altman
On Monday OpenAI released a statement saying it would “pause” the use of a ChatGPT voice after users noticed it sounded like the actress.
OpenAI said: “We’ve heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky.
“We are working to pause the use of Sky while we address them.”
Read more:
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The artificial intelligence (AI) company offers five voices that can speak generated answers through its ChatGPT service.
OpenAI earlier denied it intentionally copied Johansson and said it believed “AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice”.
The New York Times sued OpenAI at the end of last year over allegations it, and its biggest investor Microsoft, unlawfully used the newspaper’s articles to train and create ChatGPT.
The suit alleges that the AI text model now competes with the newspaper as a source of reliable information and threatens the ability of the organisation to provide such a service.
Entertainment
P Diddy: Stars react to video showing rapper attacking Cassie Ventura in hotel hallway
Stars have hit out at rapper P Diddy following the release of CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.
Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing
The video, which was obtained by CNN, was shot on 5 March eight years ago and shows the 54-year-old – whose real name is Sean Combs – shirtless and wearing just a white towel and brightly coloured socks, punching and kicking Ventura.
Sean Combs and Cassie in 2017. Pic: PA
The R&B singer, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.
The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging her across the floor, as well as throwing a glass vase in her direction.
It closely resembles the description of an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles described in a lawsuit filed by Cassie last year.
Commenting on the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, actress Emily Ratajkowski, wrote: “Monster”.
Fellow rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the video, writing sarcastically: “Now I’m sure Puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.”
Jackson also re-posted a screenshot of a statement shared by Combs in December last year, denying allegations against him and accusing those making them of “looking for a quick payday”.
50 Cent wrote: “The lie detector test has determined this was a lie…”
Pic: CNN via AP
Pic: CNN via AP
He also shared a statement from LA police which called the footage “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but explained that it happened too long ago to be prosecuted.
California law has a one-year statute of limitations for assault.
Read more: What is Sean Combs accused of?
The husband of Ventura, Alex Fine, shared a lengthy statement on Instagram titled “Letter to women and children,” calling out men who perpetrate violence against women.
‘Men who hurt women hate women’
He wrote: “Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men…
“Hold the women in your life with the utmost regard. Men who hurt women hate women.”
The personal trainer also shared the number of a domestic abuse helpline, urging those who need help to call.
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs issues an apology
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Ventura branded Combs’s apology “pathetic,” after he shared a short video on social media on Sunday, saying he was “truly sorry,” and was “disgusted” by his own behaviour.
‘Disingenuous words’
Meredith Firetog, who is a partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement: “Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt.
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.
“That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
‘Leave god and mercy out of this’
US singer and reality star Aubrey O’Day, who previously worked with Combs, also hit out at Combs’s apology video, writing on X: “Diddy did not apologize to Cassie. He apologized to the world for seeing what he did… Leave god and mercy out of this, they aren’t present here, and you know it.”
It is the first time Combs has responded directly to allegations of physical and sexual violence levelled at him in recent months.
Sean Combs’ home raided by federal law enforcement. Pic: AP
Multiple claims
In March, his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York.
In April, Combs was named in a lawsuit that alleges his son sexually assaulted a woman working on a yacht chartered by his father.
Ventura, who began dating Combs a few years after meeting him in 2005, and split with him in 2019, sued him in November, alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.
The lawsuit claimed he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The case was settled the day after it was filed.
Combs has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing.
Sienna Miller has walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival with her daughter Marlowe Ottoline Layng Sturridge.
The 42-year-old actress, who was born in the US but brought up in the UK, has been promoting her new film Horizon: An American Saga, directed by Kevin Costner.
Kevin Costner with Miller. Pic: Doug Peters/PA
Miller – who will appear in this film and its next instalment – plays East Coast settler Frances Kittredge, who moves to the Horizon settlement with her husband and two children.
Miller wore a pale blue floor-length gown, while 12-year-old Marlowe wore a white dress with a large pale pink bow around the waist for her red carpet debut.
Miller gave birth to Marlowe, whose father is The Sandman star Tom Sturridge, 38, in 2012.
She had a second daughter earlier this year with The Crown actor Oli Green, who also attended the premiere.
Miller and Green, 27, met at a Halloween party thrown by a mutual friend and have since moved to London together.
Costner – who not only directs the film but also co-wrote and stars in it too – had plenty of family support on the red carpet.
The 69-year-old Hollywood star brought five of his seven children – Annie, 40, Cayden, 17, Grace, 13, Lily, 37, and Hayes, 15. The latter makes his screen acting debut in the movie.
The Costner family: (L-R) Lily, Hayes Logan, Grace Avery, Kevin, Cayden Wyatt and Annie. Pic: PA
Horizon: An American Saga spans four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, and is described by the studio behind it, Warner Bros, as an “ambitious cinematic adventure” telling the story of the United States of America “through the lens of families, friends and foes”.
Brace yourself for a three-hour epic – and more to come
The two-part western – of which this is the first chapter – received a 10-minute standing ovation when it premiered on Sunday.
Costner also says he has scripts ready for two further instalments in the story, which would extend the epic to four parts if commissioned.
Read more on Sky News:
How Sarah Harding’s dying wish is helping young women
Strictly Come Dancing star denies ‘threatening behaviour’
Blue Peter presenter says she was assaulted by Rolf Harris
The Yellowstone star, who first pitched a version of the movie back in 1988, has plenty at stake in the project, and personally financed around $100m for the film and its sequel.
He will be hoping to emulate the success of his 1990 directorial debut Dances With Wolves, which he also starred in and produced. The movie was a box office hit, winning multiple Oscars including best picture and best director.
Horizon: An American Saga runs for over three hours and will come to UK cinemas at the end of June.
It also features Avatar star Sam Worthington, Donnie Darko actress Jena Malone and Owen Wilson’s brother Luke Wilson.
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