Billy Porter has a few words for those questioning him playing James Baldwin in upcoming biopic

Billy Porter has responded to some online criticism of his plans to co-write and star in a James Baldwin.

Porter was asked on the Tamron Hall Show yesterday about some people expressing skepticism at him taking on the role.

Porter said everyone has an opinion but that wasn’t going to deter him.

“First and foremost, the internet has created a space where it’s made people think that their opinion matters at all,” Porter said. “I am 53 years old and I’ve dedicated my life to my art and my craft. Question me at your own peril.”

He continued, “Call it whatever you want, arrogant… I’ve worked hard for this, and my mantra — and I say it all the time — I do not now, nor will I ever, adjudicate my life or humanity in sound bites on social media. I’m going to focus on the work — that’s all I can do. People have been doubting me my whole life. This ain’t nothing new.”

Last week, the Hollywood Reporter broke news about Porter working on the biopic of the late, queer writer and civil rights activist. Porter will co-write the script alongside Dan McCabe. The movie will be based on David Leeming’s 1994 book James Baldwin: A Biography.

Porter has long been a fan of Baldwin’s. In a statement, the Pose and Broadway actor and singer said, “As a Black queer man on this planet with relative consciousness, I find myself, like James Baldwin said, ‘in a rage all the time.’ I am because James was. I stand on James Baldwin’s shoulders, and I intend to expand his legacy for generations to come.”

Porter has won Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards. He’s an Oscar shy of EGOT status.

Porter’s Incognegro Productions will co-produce the Baldwin biopic along with Allen Media Group.

“It’s completely unacceptabe”

The actor and singer told Hall yesterday that he and McCabe were still working on the script. He explained some of the reasons why he felt so passionately about bringing Baldwin’s life to the screen.

“James Baldwin and his work and what he represented in the world, everything, he’s one of the first people who I saw who looked like me, who represented me in the fullness: Black, queer, and present,” Porter said.

“I’m alive because I was able to see him in my early 20s, and I met an English professor about a couple of years back who didn’t know who he was — an English professor, at a college, teaching English at a college, who didn’t know who James Baldwin was. This is unacceptable. It’s completely unacceptable.”

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