After three decades in the game, singer, actor and director Billy Porter is finally getting his flowers.
via The Daily Mail:
The 53-year-old actor, who got his start on Broadway before making a splash in Hollywood, was decked out in a luxurious white frock.
During the ceremony he stretched himself along the red carpet surrounding the star in a pose reminiscent of a 1950s pin-up.
His outfit for the daytime event was a finely pleated white frock that featured raised, puffed out shoulders and a turtleneck.
Accessorizing with a sleek silver clutch that complemented his salt-and-pepper beard, he lent the look a dash of glitz with several rings.
Billy received a warm speech from his manager Bill Butler, who has worked with him now for upwards of three decades.
Bill fought back tears as he revealed that while his mother was dying in hospice, she requested that Billy's song Love Is On The Way be played at her funeral.
'I'm so thrilled for my dear friend and client who is so deserving of this honor and all this love that surrounds him,' said Bill, as seen on the Variety livestream. 'I love you.'
After Bill wrapped up his heartfelt remarks, Billy sidled over to the lectern and the two men warmly shared a platonic kiss.
Billy also received a glowing tribute from his sister Mary Martha Ford, who gushed: 'Billy, you have worked tirelessly to get to where you are and you are deserving of every good thing that comes your way, all of it.'
She added: 'You aren't too big. You aren't too grand. You're not too much. Your gifts have made room for you and have brought you before great people.'
Martha continued: 'Grandma would tell you: "Lots of people are willin', but everybody ain't able." This is not a mistake. It's what the Creator has ordained.'
Billy himself took the stage and recalled: 'You know, I heard a lot of things in my life. "You're too black. You're too gay, too loud, too extra, too flamboyant. Homosexuality is an abomination. You are an abomination. You will never be blessed."'
He earned a round of applause as he proudly declared: 'Well, we know that's a lie.' That theory no longer has any credibility, b***es!'
Billy remembered being told: '"Try to be quieter. Try fitting in. Butch it up. Dim your light. Stop making everybody feel so uncomfortable around you." I tried to do all of those things, I really tried hard, but thank God I couldn't.'
He shared: 'I'm grateful for my allies. I'm far more grateful for my haters. I'm grateful for my successes and I'm far more grateful for my perceived failures.'
The Tony Award winner added: 'And in honor of this World AIDS Day, I'm grateful to stand in front of the world as an out, loud and proud representation of what being black, queer and HIV positive looks like in 2022.'
Congratulations Billy on a well-deserved honor.
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