Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” has always portrayed criticism of the blasphemous interpretation of the Bible, but this latest iteration – a three-night performance with “wicked” star Cynthia Eribo, who portrayed Jesus, according to those who have crossed the territory of the “devil.”
Eribo, a 38-year-old woman, despite identifying herself as queer bisexual and claiming to be Catholic, is a powerful advocate for non-binary identities, telling Elle last year that “God has a deep belief that he makes people the way they are meant to.”
“This is the devil,” wrote Kevin Sorbo, the Christian actor who posted a clip of Eribo. The Eribo clip stretched into a cross beam wearing a thorn crown, stumbling towards Adam Lambert, the openly gay singer who portrayed Judas Iscariot in production.
This is a demon.
pic.twitter.com/d4mfqk6n5z– Kevin Sorbo (@ksorbs) August 3, 2025
Sorbo was not the only critic to raise alarms about the performance that ran August 1-3 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.
Others, like Sean Davis, the CEO of the Federalist, wrote to X that Eribo’s aldish look and long nails resemble Nosferatu.
Cameron Bertuzzi, founder of the Capturing Christianity YouTube channel, shared a similar perspective on performance.
In response to Lambert’s defense of Eribo, he argued that Jesus’ teachings were “over-gender,” and Bartozzi, a Catholic, condemned Hollywood’s “religious illiteracy.”
“Christians probably want historical figures, male historical figures, their literal Messiah. They want to be portrayed by men who have at least the same gender as him,” he said.
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Podcaster and student Life of America president Kristan Hawkins also denounced Eribo’s performance as “deliberate blasphemous asp.”
“It’s no surprise that she appears to have always been portrayed by the devil,” she wrote. “And then, be real… dress like a demon, act like a demon, ock god like a demon. Don’t be shocked when people call it. This is a Hollywood deliberate asp.”
Christopher Calvin Reid, a Christian podcaster from Huntsville, Alabama, called Eribo’s casting “a blasphemous, sniffing the divinity of Christ, awakening hatred that proved the left-handed empt to the truth of the Bible.”
“The Bible is clear: “The Word has become flesh” (John 1:14), not a genderless symbol of human origin, progressive fantasies,” he wrote of X.
He continued, “It is clear that this will spit out the left on the cross and exchange God’s truth for an awakened clapping trajectory. Eribo’s liberal activities deepen their humiliation and show rejection of Christ’s divinity’s rejection of political stance.
“Christians must reject this sacrifice because it erodes the sacred and charming judgment of God while the left neck is in their echo chamber,” Reid added.
As for Eribo, she wrote in a post on her Instagram in February that she is looking forward to the role.
This was not the first time Erivo had played a role in “Superstar of Jesus Christ.” In 2020, she portrayed Mary Magdalene in all feminine productions of rock opera.
Nevertheless, her latest performance as Jesus was quickly called “Asp” and “Ock the King.”
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