Billy Porter Is Making No Apologies for Getting Political on the Road

Billy Porter is not Lola.

That is the message that the politically opinionated Tony winner is trying to spread in his hometown. Porter, who just performed a concert at Pittsburgh's Hartwood Acres, has just written a piece explaining some of his 'offensive' comments onstage. Porter writes:

James Baldwin said, "An artist's job is to disturb the peace." I take my job very seriously. The challenging thing about crossover success is that it sometimes comes in the form of playing characters that everyone can love for his or her diplomacy. Everyone loves Switzerland. Here's what I need everyone to understand as we all move forward. I won a Tony Award as the big-hearted drag queen Miss Lola in "Kinky Boots" - a character I loved playing and will soon play again on Broadway. I suspect many of you came to the concert expecting Lola. And while there are many similarities between us, Lola is a creation of fiction and resides in the comfortable space we in show business call "commercial success."

Billy Porter the man is a very different entity with a voice that will never be defined or confined by anything or anybody. And while I profoundly apologize for cussing in front of children, I encourage you all to harness and activate the same outrage you have for my F-Bombs and direct that energy to our "leader," who managed to get elected even after bragging about grabbing women by their ... well, this is a family newspaper. I find myself staring in the face of a president and an administration that think it's perfectly fine to put my humanity up for legislation - again! We already did this, y'all. Folk have already fought and died for our rights, so excuse me if I'm having a hard time worrying about other people's comfort levels.

Click here to read his full piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Porter has just released a new album- The Soul of Richard Rodgers via Bee & El /Sony Masterworks Broadway - available now on all digital platforms and streaming via digital subscription services. The new album features fan favorites "Bewitched", "Edelweiss", "Carefully Taught", "My Funny Valentine" and "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning". Get it here!

Porter won the 2013 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his groundbreaking performance as "Lola" in Kinky Boots. Other Broadway acting credits include Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe, Grease, Smokey Joe's Café, the 20th Anniversary Broadway concert of Dreamgirls, and most recently the highly-acclaimed Shuffle Along. Off Broadway and regional credits include Angels in America, Romance In Hard Times, The Merchant of Venice, House of Lear, Radiant Baby, Birdie Blue, Going Native, Jelly's Last Jam, Topdog/Underdog, King Lear, Jason Robert Brown's Songs For A New World, Jesus Christ Superstar, Antigone, A Chorus Line and Chicago. His one-man show, Ghetto Superstar: The Man That I Am, debuted at The Public Theater in NYC in conjunction with City Theatre of Pittsburgh and was nominated for a 2005 GLAAD Media Award. Porter was also named "Pittsburgh's Performer of the Year 2003-2004" by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Porter's film and television credits include Barry Levinson's The Humbling opposite Al Pacino, Sundance Film Festival features The Broken Hearts Club and Intern, Noel (with Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams), Shake Rattle & Roll as Little Richard for CBS, Another World, Twisted, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, The Big C, The Oprah WinfreyShow, A Very Rosie Christmas, The Tonight Show and multiple appearances on The Rosie O'Donnell Show. He was also seen in the premiere episode of Baz Luhrman's recent Netflix series, The Get Down. His original song "Time" has been featured twice on the mega-hit television series So You Think You Can Dance as well as the 2011 Miss AmErica Pageant. Porter's concert credits include opening for Rosie O'Donnell and Aretha Franklin, Carnegie Hall, John McDaniel and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, as well as The Buffalo Philharmonic, Peter Nero and The Philly Pops, soloist for President Bill Clinton, and benefits throughout the U.S.