Pose star Billy Porter is officially the first openly gay black man to win an Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama. The actor, who stunned on the red carpet in pinstriped Michael Kors Couture, took home his first Emmy for playing the character Pray Tell in the acclaimed FX series.
In his acceptance speech, Billy quoted from iconic writer James Baldwin: “It took many years of vomiting up all the filth I’d been taught about myself, and half-believed, before I was able to walk on the earth as though I had a right to be here.” He then continued in his own words, “I have the right. You have the right. We all have the right.” He also praised show creator Ryan Murphy for his support, saying, “Ryan Murphy, you saw me. You believed in us.”
The rest of the cast of Pose looked on with emotional delight as Billy accepted the award to intense applause. His Pose character Pray Tell is a ball emcee who is HIV positive, and who also acts as a leader and mentor in the House of Evangelista. Fans of the show are already ecstatic about his Emmy win, with many pointing out how close Billy is to an EGOT.
“I’ve been in this business for 30 years,” Billy told People back when he was first nominated. “My outness was always considered a liability for me and that has turned around. In my life in the business, having that flamboyant ability, very often that’s where you’re pigeonholed, that’s where you’re sort of put in a box. I’m glad to be out of that box. I’m glad that Pray Tell gets to be a really three-dimensional human being.”
This story was originally published by TeenVogue.com.
