Erivo plays peacemaker after young fan tackled by security

by · Mail Online

Cynthia Erivo stepped in as peacemaker after a young fan was ‘taken to the ground’ by a security guard following a performance of her show Dracula.

The Wicked star, starring in the one-woman adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, was seen trying to calm the victim – who had been waiting to meet her outside the stage door at the Noel Coward Theatre in London earlier this month.

Footage circulating online shows Ms Erivo, 39, urging the shaken fan, called Lewis, to ‘take a breath, baby’ as he told her: ‘I wasn’t just hurt, I was attacked. I’m not an angry person, I don’t put my hands on people.’

She made repeated attempts to calm the situation after the security guard is said to have left the scene.

She told Lewis: ‘I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can see you are hurt, I understand.’

He replied: ‘It was nothing to do with you. So I’m so sorry that you’re now having to deal with this. It’s disgusting. It was horrible.

‘I’m a good person, and I don’t get angry like that.’

The Metropolitan Police are now understood to be investigating the incident. 

The Wicked star (right), currently starring in the one-woman adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, was seen trying to calm a young fan (left) who was ‘taken to the ground’ by a security guard following a performance of her show Dracula
Ms Erivo, who plays 23 different roles in the show, began her run at the Noel Coward Theatre on February 4 and will finish on May 31

The Noel Coward Theatre – run by Cameron Mackintosh’s firm Delfont Mackintosh Theatres – insisted the guard was not an employee.

A theatre insider said: ‘The security man must work for someone else but it was a horrible situation.

‘The guard must have believed there was a potential situation that would become out of control so they stepped in but that is all being looked at.

‘As for Cynthia, she is a very warm and kind person. She hated something like that happening.

‘She is loving being Dracula and wants people to love it, so when she saw the brawl unravelling and could see the young man was distressed and upset, she did her best to calm the situation down.’

Ms Erivo, who plays 23 different roles in the show, began her run on February 4 and will finish on May 31. 

She has won rave reviews for her performance.

A spokesman for Delfont Mackintosh Theatres declined to comment on the incident due to the ongoing police inquiry.