Billy Porter told Page Six in an interview published Wednesday (February 7th) that he is still bouncing back after losing his house during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year.
“Just because you are working does not mean you are rich,” the Pose actor told the outlet. “I am a blue collar freelance worker, period. I was on strike for 118 days. Ain’t no checks coming in when that happened.”
“Please, I am working. I am blessed. Don’t cry for me Argentina!” he added, referencing the Broadway musical Evita. “I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination. Please, we are working hard, yes … that’s it though.”
The Broken Hearts Club actor also addressed Taraji P. Henson‘s remarks during an interview with Gayle King in December that sparked a conversation about racial pay disparities in the industry. “I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do and getting paid a fraction of the cost… I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ Well, I have to. The math ain’t math-ing,” she said at the time.
“When we saw Taraji break down, it was real,” Porter said. “It was the truth.”