“I have always wanted to use my art to heal,” he told GLAAD. “I just knew that with the success that I was having [with Pose], that it was time.”
Notably, Porter’s Pose character Pray Tell was diagnosed with HIV in season one of the groundbreaking FX drama, which followed the stories of transgender women of color in the ballroom scene of 1980s New York.
“Life imitates art, art imitates life, and as a result, we as humans get to be the better for it,” Porter said of his character’s diagnosis preceding his own real-world announcement.
Porter is also famous for shaking up the red carpet with daring looks that challenge conventional gender norms. This week he called out Vogue for featuring Harry Styles in feminine silhouettes on its December 2020 cover, arguing that he himself set the trend at greater risk to his career and wellbeing as a queer, Black man. (Editor’s note: them. and Vogue are both owned by Condé Nast.)
“I have always done my own fashion,” Porter told GLAAD. “I have been laughed at. I have been called ridiculous. People just didn’t get what I was trying to do for a very long time. What’s interesting is playing with the gender freeness.”
In addition to starring alongside Camila Cambello and James Corden in Cinderella earlier this year, the multi-hyphenate has also begun working behind the camera. Porter’s first feature as a filmmaker, entitled What If?, is a contemporary coming-of-age story centering on a trans high school girl, played by actress and former them. assistant editor Eva Reign. The movie was filmed in Pittsburgh this summer.
As if that’s not enough, Porter’s new upbeat dance number “Children” has been making waves this week. On the new track, Porter sings: “The change starts today, better wipe those tears away.” Porter has said that the song is intended to celebrate young people and encourage them to be who they are.
“The song is about choosing yourself, and then using the power of that choice to help others make the same choice,” he said in a recent Instagram video, adding: “I want people to feel empowered. Choosing that is the only way to live.”
Unprotected is available now from Abrams.
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