Billy Porter speaks out about being HIV-positive

Billy Porter

After 14 years of his diagnosis, Pose actor Billy Porter breaks his silence on being HIV-positive.

Porter, who won an Emmy award for the portrayal of the HIV-positive character Pray Tell in the FX series, had kept the illness a secret from everyone, including his mother. In a tell-all interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor says that he used his character as a proxy to express himself. He says, he was able to say everything he wanted to say through a surrogate.

Porter recalls that the year 2007 as being the worst for him. In February, he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, in March he filed for bankruptcy and in June he was tested positive for HIV. He reveals that he took the test by luck when he visited the doctor to take care of "a pimple on my butt".

He claims he did not reveal his condition to anyone in fear of the being discriminated. It would have just been another way for people around him to discriminate against him in an already discriminatory profession. The actor decided to reveal his secret after pondering during the isolation caused by the pandemic.

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