Cynthia Erivo, who got under a lot of public scrutiny in late 2024 over Wicked, might just be on the path of career redemption with her latest gig: Her latest West End show, Dracula. This comes amidst all the recognition and tremendous acclaim she is currently receiving from fans worldwide for her performance in the show at London’s Noël Coward Theatre.
While she took the lead in this production of Bram Stoker’s titular stage work, one major reason behind this particular rendition of her gaining so much attention from fans is that Erivo didn’t just play the iconic vampire, no. Rather, she embodied the persona of all 23 characters in the one-woman solo play, making this one of her most ambitious projects to date.
Cynthia Erivo received a standing ovation at the first preview of her one-woman show ‘Dracula.’She performs all of 23 roles.pic.twitter.com/v7gt0Fe39s— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 7, 2026
As a press release teased about her performance back in 2025 (via the Huff Post):
In this radical interpretation, Erivo will embody all twenty-three characters in Stoker’s iconic tale – from the naïve solicitor Jonathan Harker and his fiancée Mina Murray to confidante Lucy Westenra, her suitors, and the formidable vampire hunter Van Helsing – as well as the infamous Count Dracula themself.
And when she came out on stage to perform at the first preview of her show, the three-time Oscar-nominated singer-actress iconically received a standing ovation as well (see the clip of it shared by @PopBase on X). That said, this latest gig could inevitably serve as Erivo’s career redemption, for sure!
Why Cynthia Erivo Received Backlash for Wicked
Back in 2024, Cynthia Erivo earned quite a bit of backlash after she took offense to a fan-edited promotional poster for Wicked, in which she played the part of the Wicked Witch, known as Elphaba. For those who might have missed it, here’s the full story:
Ahead of the release of the film, an iconic poster from the Broadway musical was recreated by Erivo and co-star Ariana Grande (who played Glinda the Good Witch) for their 2024 movie. In the illustrated Broadway poster, Glinda was seen whispering into the ear of Elphaba. This was modified a bit in the recreated image, which framed the characters such that both the actors’ faces could be seen (via @buffys on X).
THE ICONIC WICKED POSTER HAS BEEN RELEASED pic.twitter.com/lt1Zzyl8Yp— ໊ (@buffys) October 9, 2024
But some fans of the musical felt as though the striking image had lost its impact, with one fan proceeding to edit the recreated image such that it resembled the animated poster. This new edit raised Grande’s hand to cover more of her face and covered up Erivo’s eyes entirely, mimicking the exact way that the two characters were presented in the illustrated poster.
However, this change didn’t quite sit well with Erivo. As she explained in her scathing review of this fan-altered poster through her Instagram handle (via @DiscussingFilm on X):
This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI of us fighting, equal to people posing the question “is your ***** green” None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us. The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION. I am a real life human being, who chose to look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer …because, without words we communicate with our eyes. Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.
Cynthia Erivo has reacted to viral edits of the ‘WICKED’ poster:“This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI of us fighting… Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face & hide my eyes is to erase me. That is just deeply hurtful” pic.twitter.com/y3P1Qh379S— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 16, 2024
While this prompted director Jon M. Chu to extend his support to Erivo, fans were surprised by the actress’ offended reaction, since the edit was not intended as an insult or act of erasure. This prompted numerous memes from fans worldwide to swirl around about her reaction, leading to all the backlash surrounding her over the film (via Forbes).
Though Erivo did later reflect on the controversy with Entertainment Tonight, saying, “I’m passionate about it, and I know the fans are passionate about i,t and I think for me it was just like a human moment of wanting to protect little Elphaba, and it was like a human moment. I probably should have called my friends, but it’s fine.” Hmm, alright.
Fans Are Celebrating Cynthia Erivo’s Performance in Dracula
Cynthia Erivo in a still from Wicked: For Good. | Credit: Universal Pictures.
Although some fans continue to roast Cynthia Erivo for allegedly needing to be the center of attention “as bad as this woman,” many other fans are now jumping to her rescue. If anything, this other, more positive and supportive side of her fanbase is celebrating the singer-actress’s unparalleled performance in Dracula, backing up the standing ovation she received for the same.
On X, here’s what these optimistic fans have to say about Erivo:
23 roles?!! 😲👏 pic.twitter.com/cfGBcWukyj— Funktasy – Record Label & Magazine (@funktasy) February 8, 2026
One person, 23 roles, the whole audience stood up and applauded—that’s Cynthia Erivo’s power. The stage belongs to her.— Caroline Poarch (@Carolineub6) February 8, 2026
This woman gets hate for literally no reason, Cynthia is truly becoming a one of a kind performer— You Really Wanna Know Who I Am?🕷️ (@LORDCOSMOERA) February 7, 2026
She’s the perfect example of don’t judge a book by it’s cover pic.twitter.com/2un0QLezls— DEYLANEY ✨ (@Deylaneyy) February 8, 2026
Cynthia Erivo continues to prove she’s in a league of her own. The range, the stamina, the presence carrying Dracula single handedly is pure theatrical brilliance. pic.twitter.com/5U2XnQPZTz— Diggy (@Digvija73188705) February 8, 2026
playing 23 roles herself this is literally INSANE pic.twitter.com/KnwdU3dlmh— s ☼ (@sunshinesnati0n) February 8, 2026
23 roles, and people still question her talent?— ᴸshak 🤪 (@sstttdiam) February 8, 2026
She’s so sweet and immensely talented. I really hate that people treated her so horribly— TANGENI🐐 (@Robnson_T) February 8, 2026
Well, with or without the criticism and backlash, it can’t be denied that Cynthia Erivo is, in fact, one of the finest talents to have debuted in the entertainment industry, and all this trolling only appears to further encourage her to reach remarkable heights and achieve exceptional milestones in her career.
Don’t you agree? What do you think about this? Share your thoughts and comments on this with us in the comments section below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
