Billy Porter went from one of the world’s most famous streets to another.
The Broadway superstar will be making an appearance on Sesame Street during its 51st season.
And the Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner has taken his famous frock along for the journey.
He will be wearing his show-stopping 2019 Academy Awards outfit – a tuxedo gown, designed by Christian Siriano – as he continues his white hot streak and newfound fame.
Porter joins the endless cavalcade of celebrity notables who have stopped by the classic children’s program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last fall.
Sesame Street’s official Twitter feed described Porter’s shoot as, “an iconic day with an iconic person” when announcing the news on Thursday and showing snapshots of Porter with Elmo and on set.
On his Twitter account, the Pose actor said he “was tickled to meet @elmo and the gang at @sesamestreet.”
But hate-mongering holy rollers weren’t thrilled that the loud and proud LGBTQ+ activist will be making his debut on the show.
The nerve of him, right?
Within 24 hours after the appearance was teased on social media, “fed up” folks got in formation to denounce Porter’s guest spot, launching a petition and demanding the network to axe the episode.
“The promotion of drag queens, seen at this year’s Super Bowl and also at libraries around the country, is a coordinated effort by LGBT activists to ’normalize’ their morally and scientifically dangerous ideology with the young,” part of Life Petitions’ petition — entitled “Parents Demand Sesame Street to Drop Show With Drag Queen” — reads.
“Transgenderism is not about ’love.’ It is an disorder—gender dysphoria—which has absolutely no place on a children’s program.”
Drag queen? Billy Porter?
Oh. Okay.
Ignorance is so f@#$ing bliss and people love to be stuck on stupid.
The classically-trained, award winning powerhouse is not a drag queen – he just played one on Broadway (in Kinky Boots).
People should talk what they know.
But I suppose if everyone did, the world probably would be really boring, right?
So I won’t comment about “gender dysphoria” because I have no idea what it is.
So I will leave that where it is.
Back there!
Sadly, the group that says it’s “the leading petition platform exclusively serving the pro-life and pro-family communities” initially asked for 30,000 people to join their mission and and by Sunday night rallied more than 33,000 signatures.
The hate that hate, bigotry and marginalization produced led these petitioners (for the lack of a better term) to totally conflate gender identity with gender presentation, which are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS.
But I digress.
Porter coincidentally appeared on the Tamron Hall talk show Thursday morning before the news was announced.
“I spent the majority of my life in the masculinity race trying to be masculine enough to get a gig,” the Carnegie Mellon University alum told Hall, who is the most stylish person on television. Hall dedicated the entire episode to gender fluidity and celebrating pride. The former Today Show hostess was even seen vogueing and “shablaming” during a segment of the show featuring members of The House of LaBeija.
“It’s all about masculinity, especially for a black man,” he continued of his journey of full self acceptance. “If you’re not masculine enough, you’re dismissed. You can’t get work. You don’t get jobs, you don’t get work. It was a real thing for me my whole life, it wasn’t just the business. I was just trying to be masculine enough to get the gig and then when I was about forty, I said I’m going to take myself out of this race.”
“None of us are free until we’re all free,” he said elsewhere during the interview in regards to representing the change he wants to see. “The space that we’re in, where we are seemingly so divided, is actually historically the moment that the people come together more than ever because we have to and because we’re required to. Otherwise, the whole thing will implode.”
“Creatively, we have always been at the forefront, as creatives, as architects of change,” the Pittsburgh native continued. This is an example of that… We get to change the molecular structure of what’s inside someone’s heart. That’s what creates change for good. That’s what we need. Change that sticks, change for good.”
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