Cynthia Erivo‘s pre-recorded song cuts off actress Kara Young’s 2025 Tony Awards acceptance speech, sparking discussion among fans online. The Purpose actress reportedly made history as the first Black woman to earn two consecutive wins in the Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Play category.
While Young was gushing over the theater being a “sacred space” in a divided world, Cynthia Erivo’s audio cut her off. She concluded her speech, highlighting the importance of ‘honoring’ and treasuring the theaters.
Kara Young’s acceptance speech stopped mid-way with Cynthia Erivo’s singing
Kara Young won her second Tony Award at the 2025 ceremony for her phenomenal performance in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ stage play, Purpose. While Young was delivering her emotional speech at the ceremony, Cynthia Erivo’s audio starts playing, presumably after the 90-second mark.
The cut-off was seemingly a joke. The award show host for the year, Erivo, had previously announced that anyone taking more than 90 seconds for their acceptance speech would be cut off by her singing. (via People)
Meanwhile, Young’s second consecutive win at the 2025 Tony Awards has made history. In her acceptance speech, the Broadway star gushed, “In this world that [is] so divided, theater is … a safe, a sacred space that we have to honor and cherish, and it makes us united.”
While talking to the press after her win, Young further noted the importance of theater lies in how it unites the audience in a divided world. She said, “I truly feel like we are so divided out here in the world that we can literally sit in the theater and nothing else matters but the story.” (via The Hollywood Reporter)
Fans did not seem to like Erivo’s song cutting Young’s speech short. An X (formerly Twitter) user commented, “The Cynthia Erivo song over during Kara Young’s speech is going to be talked about for while.”
Another enraged fan posted, “How tacky for Cynthia Erivo to sing Kara Young’s great speech off the stage… It’s not that CBS has anything spectacular following up.”
Additionally, Young is planning to carry the iconic momentum of her career next with The Whoopi Monologues.
Originally reported by Arpita Adhya on ComingSoon.
