VIDEO INTERVIEW – Billy Porter: Black, Gay, and Out of F*cks: “Pose” powerhouse on his Black queer experience, upcoming memoir and finally feeling like he’s made it

"Now that I have a massive platform, and now that the people want to listen to the Black sissy, I’m gonna talk," Billy Porter says, fired up, leaning into the camera. On Zoom, Porter commands a computer screen like he does a red carpet.
In this particular moment, his fiery passion stems from a call he received from screenwriter-actress Lena Waithe, who raised an eyebrow after Porter made history as Essence’s first openly gay man to grace the magazine’s cover. Porter says Waithe got him on the phone to talk about the anonymous letter written by current and former Essence staffers calling themselves "Black Female Anonymous." The letter was published on Medium on June 28 and called out the magazine for its toxic work environment, just before Porter’s cover story hit newsstands. "I had to stop her," he says. "I said, ‘I hear you, I see you, I feel you.’"
But Porter simply didn’t know about the letter, he says. Until she called, he hadn’t even seen it. "I don’t give a fuck about social media," he scoffs, talking about his refusal to be engaged on social platforms. "I don’t adjudicate my life or humanity in sound bites on social media. I don’t fight with nobody, I don’t have Twitter fights."
The reason, he says, is "I’m 50 years old. Everybody has to remember that I built a career before social media."
Porter’s mainstream breakthrough, playing ball emcee Pray Tell on FX’s trans-centric series Pose, is an accumulation of dedication to his craft as a singer and actor that began in his 20s in his hometown of Pittsburgh. He released solo albums that weren’t widely known. He met music industry standards for Black artists (you had to be R&B). And then, later, he dismantled those standards (he could sing show tunes, and did). In 2013, he originated the role of Lola in Kinky Boots, which led to both a Tony and Grammy award.
In September 2019, Porter made history as the first openly Black gay man to win in any lead acting category at the Emmys for his role on Pose. Though winners won’t be announced until Sept. 20, Porter recently received another nomination for his portrayal of Pray Tell.
Despite the pandemic, Porter is remaining prolific. He recorded an updated version of the 1966 protest song "For What It’s Worth," which he performed on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, to address our current political landscape; he’s also featured on The Shapeshifters’ disco number "Finally Ready," which reflects, in part, his decades-long journey living through the AIDS crisis. He’s writing two books, his memoir and a children’s picture book. He also has starring roles in two upcoming films: a live-action Cinderella remake, as the Fairy Godmother, and in out Love, Simon director Greg Berlanti’s big-screen take on Little Shop of Horrors.
My recent interview with Porter was scheduled as an audio-only Zoom call, but because not even Porter’s handlers can stop Porter from setting his own rules, he appears on video in a caftan, casually eating in a rented beach house. A bag with "Vote Betches" written on it is propped up in back of him. Expecting to see none of this, I’m in the clothes I went to bed in: a tank top and sweat shorts, with a hat I threw on. I tell Porter that I thought...