-Billy Porter! Thank you so much
for being on our show. We appreciate it.
We love you. How are you? -I'm fantastic.
Thank you for having me. -Are you getting
to work on anything? What are you up to? What --
How are you spending your time? -Yeah, you know,
so, I've been writing. You know, I've been getting up
most mornings at like 5:00 and writing from 5:00 to 10:00. I have a memoir that's due
to the publisher in October, along with a children's
picture book to accompany it. -Wow.
-So I'm working
on that. -That's great.
-I'm working on a musical. I just finished a pilot for a series
that I've been developing. I'm working on new music
as you -- as you know. -Oh, absolutely. I love it.
-Yeah. -I love your songs, too. -I'm just trying
to stay creative and -- -How does the --
How does a memoir work? Like, where do you start
on a memoir? Do you get to a story
where you're like, "Whew, I can't tell that story"? -Um...no. -[ Laughs ]
-Because I'm telling the truth. I'm a truth teller.
-You are
? -Oh, I don't know...
-I'm a truth teller. I'm telling all of my [bleep].
Just mine. -[ Laughs ] I mean, good.
I want to hear it. Because, obviously,
I'm a fan of yours. Man, oh, man. You've been
crushing the red carpet. Crushing it! Owning!
Owning the red carpet! -[ Laughs ] Thank you.
-Really. -Thank you. No, I've really
been taking a break. -Oh, really? -Taking this time
to take a break and breathe. Have a little self-care, figure
out what balance looks like. -But, you can't lose
that creati
ve Billy Porter that we love. You can't lose
the mechanical hat. -[ Laughs ]
It's not going nowhere. It's not going nowhere.
-The mechanical hat was the one! -[ Laughs ]
-That was the one! I go, "Oh, my gosh."
-Is that your favorite, Jimmy? -That was my favorite! Because no one
saw it coming, dude. Everyone was like,
"Oh, that's cool. That's just some fringe.
That's all." And you're like -- Is it? [ Overlapping dialogue ] -Well, my stylist
had the remote... steps from me. So, we had a sign.
-[ L
aughs ] -So, when you -- So,
when I stood in second position and clamped my purse
in between my legs, he was to press the button. -[ Laughs ]
I didn't know how you did it. It just broke the Internet. I go, "Oh, Billy Porter
did it again!" -[ Laughs ]
-It was great. -You know, we came --
It came about because when we were at -- I think we were at
the American Music Awards, and I was right behind
Billie Eilish on the red carpet, and she was wearing
this, like, Gucci veil. And it was so cute, and I
said,
"Oh, that's really cute." But I'm never wearing something
that covers up my face. I've waited too long
for this moment. Folks need to see my face. So then my stylist came back
to me and said, "Well, what if the veil opened
and closed electronically?" -The rest is history.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. -Somebody's got to do it.
Somebody's got to do it. -Yep. I almost feel like
that's a page in the memoir where there's one page
that you got to open up. -[ Laughs ]
Electronically. -Yes.
-It comes with a
clicker. -It comes with a cli-- Yeah. It comes with a stylist,
someone to help out. And then you released a song.
-Yes. -Just a brand-new --
You did a version of "For What It's Worth,"
which is -- I mean, it's an anthem. It's Buffalo Springfield,
but it's -- For anyone who doesn't know the
song from the title, but it's -- ♪ Something's happening here ♪ -♪ What it is
ain't exactly clear ♪ Yes!
-It's good. -♪ Paranoia strikes deep ♪ ♪ Into your life it will creep ♪ -Yes! ♪ And so we stop,
hey, wh
at's that sound? ♪ ♪ Everybody look
what's going down ♪ -You got props from
Stephen Stills, by the way. -I did get props
from Stephen Stills. He really loves it.
And, you know, I just wanted to, as an artist, do something
with this platform, this new platform that I have,
to ignite change, to ignite a fire
under our behinds so that we get out to vote. This is an election year. We have lived through this
last three-plus years of terror. And it's time for it to be over. And, you know,
I grew up wi
th protest music. I'm first-generation
post-Civil Rights. Then coming out as gay
and being on the frontlines during the AIDS crisis,
activism is in my DNA. -Mm-hmm.
-And I wanted to make sure that I was showing up
in that way. And so that's what this song
is all about. And the message is,
it's time for change. Change for good. And get out to vote
to make that happen. -Get out and vote. You also chose Actors Fund as a charity
that we should spotlight. I just -- I feel so bad for everyone in the B
roadway
community, but -- -Yeah. Thousands and thousands
of people out of work. -How -- What's your familiarity
with the Actors Fund? -Well, you know,
when I came onto the scene on Broadway in 1990, '91, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights
AIDS and the Actors Fund were -- joined together
to combat the AIDS crisis. And, you know, it was where I learned all of
my activism stuff. It's where I engaged. And then, you know,
the Actors Fund has been around
for about 150 years. And, you know, they support
acto
rs who are in need. You know, I went through a
really dry period in the aughts, and they were there for me. You know, they paid rent for me. They paid my medical bills
for me. And now my mother
resides in New Jersey at the Actors Fund Nursing Home. So the Actors Fund
has really been a huge, huge part of my life. -Wow.
-And, uh -- -I didn't know that.
That's amazing. That's amazing. Yeah, and now is the time
where you go, "Hey, we've got to
give back, guys." We always have been giving,
but even i
f you haven't, a little bit, even a little bit,
a dollar helps. You have no idea how much...
-Pay it forward. -...how much it goes
and how many people it affects just by giving any little bit --
50 cents, whatever you can do. -Well, we have to
take care of each other. You know, this is how
we take care of each other. -Yeah. Billy Porter, I love you. I can't wait
to see you in person. -Me too.
-And thank you for doing this. And I can't wait
to read the book. And I can't wait
to listen to the song
. You're giving me a
lot of Billy Porter love. And the kids' book
that's going to come with it. -The kids' book, yes.
-It's so great to see you. And you make
a lot of people happy. Thanks for doing this. Bye, bud.
-Thank you for having me.
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