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Actor Billy Porter warned Saturday that the wave of “performative wokeness” may have come to an end as many arts jobs have dried up with it.
The Emmy-winning actor, known for appearing as a gender-neutral Fairy Godmother in “Cinderella,” spoke to Rev. Al Sharpton on MS NOW about the shifting landscape of the entertainment industry.
“As a Black, gay, out artist, I caught the wave of what we now know as performative wokeness,” Porter said on “PoliticsNation.” “I caught the wave of being in the center of that very progressive space. And I crashed through glass ceilings that were concrete.”
Billy Porter spoke onstage at an event hosted by the Committee for the First Amendment on March 27, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Committee for the First Amendment)
Porter also attended a rally outside the Trump-Kennedy Center as part of the “No Kings” demonstrations over the weekend. The venue recently underwent a name change when the Kennedy Center board voted to add President Donald Trump’s name to the performing arts center, drawing criticism from some artists and cultural figures.
Protesters at the event claimed the Trump administration’s policies pose a threat to artists’ First Amendment rights. Porter was joined by other celebrity activists, including Joan Baez and Jane Fonda.
Porter noted that following a peak in progressive projects, he has seen a clear change in the culture and his own career prospects.
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Billy Porter attended the 2025 BAFTA Television Awards at the Royal Festival Hall on May 11, 2025, in London, England. (Jeff Spicer/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)
“I have noticed the opportunities slowly drying up for the work that I do,” Porter said.
“The Midwest CBS shows and the cop shows all of that stuff still exists, but when it’s time to talk about heart, when it’s time to talk about connection and when it’s time to talk about people that don’t look like everybody else, those of us who are on the margins. There’s not a lot of that going on right now. There’s not a lot of that work going on right now,” he said, urging activists to “stay vigilant.”
The actor and musician accused the Trump administration of attacking the arts, saying “authoritarian governments go after the arts first.”
Billy Porter introduced Elton John during the 2024 “A Year in TIME” dinner at Current at Chelsea Piers on Dec. 11, 2024, in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for TIME)
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He said the arts can change people, adding, “That is dangerous for fascists, and they know it. And that’s why they attack us first.”
A veteran of the stage and screen, Porter is known for appearing in the FX series “Pose” and is set to appear in “The Hunger Games” spin-off “Sunrise on the Reaping.” He also appeared on Broadway, winning a Tony Award in 2013 for “Kinky Boots.”
