When you’re a newly minted fashion icon, you can’t just show up to the Late Show with Stephen Colbert in any old rags.
“There’s an expectation,” Pose star, red carpet goddess, and Queerty Pride50 honoree Billy Porter told Colbert, “so I have to dress appropriately.”
Decked in gold, Porter talked Colbert through some of his iconic fashion moments of late.
Related: Red Carpet and ‘Pose’ star Billy Porter is telling the queer stories we’ve been waiting for
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
He also had this to say about clothing and gender, and we’d all be wise to perk up our ears:
“I’ve always been into fashion, and I feel like especially when it comes to gender, you know, we’ve moved beyond the idea that women wearing pants is a problem — thank you Katharine Hepburn. Women wearing pants is powerful, it’s strong, everybody accepts it, and it’s associated with the patriarchy, it’s associated with being male. The minute a man puts on a dress, it’s ‘disgusting.’ So what are you saying? ‘Men are strong; women are disgusting.’ I’m not doing that anymore. I’m done with that. I’m a man in a dress, and if I feel like wearing a dress, I’m going to wear one!”
Watch the full interview below:
Dan Tracer is a queer writer, noisemaker, and amateur astral projector. Find him on Instagram.
Vince
Oh gurl. You lit it up. 2 Snaps. You’re like a black Richard Simmons.
Kangol2
I love Richard Simmons but he never had Billy Porter’s style. Billy Porter is like Billy Porter. Or Diana Ross in Mahogany, but updated for 2019.
NateOcean
Have you mis-gendered Billy?
cooperruben2
Nope. Often Billy Porter refers to herself as she.
ShiningSex
LOVE HIM since Broken Hearts Club movie and glad he is still around being busy and amazing!!!
ShiningSex
LOVE HIM since Broken Hearts Club movie and glad he is still around being busy and amazing!!!
Kangol2
Billy Porter is super-fab and unapologetically so. It’s beautiful to see him finally gaining notice and praise for his incredible talent as a singer and performer, and for his boundary-breaking style.
white-queer-african
Far too girly in my opinion. My opinion, so no rude replies. Danke je.
ROBTWILO
I agree..
Esscourt
Oh God he’s annoying! Inject him with more testosterone!
white-queer-african
@Esscourt, so agree with you. For over 40 years i have battled with Hetros thinking i should be like a woman. NO. I am a man that is attracted to men. Not some camp girly queen. I might as well sleep with a girl!
lord.krath
Oh Gods. Live this. Love them both. That is good energy. Fantastic, fun, well articulated interview.
lord.krath
For those that are like, “he is too womanlike (I.e. Effeminate)” you have entirely missed the point of the entire interview. Entirely. Missed. The. Point. You should watch it again and listen to what both men are saying. You don’t have to be attracted to him or as expressive as he is. He is just as Gay as you are no matter how butch you imagine yourselves to be. In fact, there is an old saying that goes somewhat like this: “if you have to say that you are [something], you probably are not.” What you are is advertised in your self expression and being not what you want others to think you are. Just because you wear a dress, doesn’t make you a woman. Just like not liking effeminate men doesn’t make you more straight acting or secure in your masculinity.