BILLY PORTER

Billy Porter is a gay actor and singer. Billy won the 2013 “Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical” for his role as the drag queen Lola in Kinky Boots at the 67th Tony Awards. He credits the part for "cracking open" his feminine side to confront toxic masculinity. “There’s never been a question for me that my art is my activism. They’ve never been separated,” Porter said. “Through the decades, it’s deepened. I have learned how to show up and participate better, but I don’t have a choice. I’m black and gay. I don’t have a choice. I can’t sit back and be silent, and expect the world to do anything for me.”

He currently stars in the television series Pose, which is based in the ballroom scene in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s, and deals with topics like the HIV crisis and gay liberation. He won the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first openly gay black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Primetime Emmys.

In recent years, Billy has become renowned for wearing flamboyant, camp outfits while walking the red carpet. Following on from playing Lola in Kinky Boots, this trend has allowed Porter to tackle toxic masculinity.

In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, sparking the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named Billy one of the Pride50 "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance, and dignity for all queer people."

Billy Porter is a Certified Proud Icon because he tackles inequality and stigma in both his personal and professional life.