In an interview with The Hollywood
Reporter, out actor Billy Porter criticized President Donald
Trump's slow response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Porter won an Emmy for playing Pray
Tell on FX's Pose.
With the crisis shutting down
production of Pose's third season, Porter has been quarantined
with husband Adam Smith in New York City.
Porter told The Hollywood Reporter
that he was using his downtime to “recalibrate and really reset.”
“For me, these last couple of years
have been work, work, work, and there are no complaints about that,
but I do have to say that simply having time to spend with my husband
and my family, virtually or otherwise, is an amazing thing. And so
I’m getting a lot of inspiration from that,” Porter said.
He added that he's working on a memoir,
a pilot and new music. (Porter has released four studio albums.)
When asked what he's learned about
himself during this period, Porter
answered: “I need to figure out and hold onto how to [practice]
self-care. There’s been a lot of understanding of what that means
during this period for me and I would really love to build on that
and hold onto it.”
“What does that look like for you?”
the interviewer asked.
“Really, my writing. Literally being
able to create with my mind free – and yes, there’s concern about
the virus and worry about all of that, but to not have a million
things to do during the day and trying to carve out space for that is
what self-care looks like for me. And I’ve been working out with my
husband three times a week. I’m getting back into yoga. I’m
investigating my spirituality – like, what does that look like now
at 50. Me and my husband both have been investigating Buddhism, for
instance, and that’s not something I ever really paid attention to.
So, that’s a bit of what it looks like. And reconnecting with
people via this online Zoom thing. I was on the phone with 12 of my
nearest and dearest for two hours two days ago. We haven’t done
that, maybe, ever. That’s the silver lining for me. A friend of
mine had a birthday yesterday, it was a Zoom birthday, and we just
had a good old time.”
Porter also praised New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo's response to the crisis.
“He's really been a fine, fine leader
– the leader that we need in this time,” he said. “Many of the
governors are picking up that slack because our current
administration just doesn't have it. They don't have the skill set to
be the leaders that we need them to be. And I hope everybody
remembers this shit in November.”