Actor tells Billy Porter to sell house because of strikes

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Add Billy Porter to the list of thousands affected financially by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, after it was revealed that the actor would have to sell his home, in a very precarious moment for those in the entertainment industry.

“I have to sell my house…because we are on strike. And I don’t know when we’ll be back.” [to work]Porter said Evening Standard interviewto support his musical career. “The artist’s life, until you make great money—which I haven’t yet—is still in check. I was supposed to be in a new movie and on a new TV show starting in September. None of that is happening.”

Porter continued, referring to a July Deadline article quoting an anonymous WGA strike executive, “So for the guy who said, ‘We’re going to starve them until they have to sell their apartments’ — you’ve already starved me out.”

The actor’s comments come less than 100 days after the Writers’ Guild went on strike against studios and broadcasters, which would not agree to the terms of the new film and television contract it was seeking. Theses are themselves 26 days into their labor dispute.

Porter highlighted his personal situation in part to oppose the idea of the actors’ strike among “some normal people”—which is simply about “a group of millionaires trying to make more millions,” rather than promoting the financial security of many in the working class.

The actor lamented that while the industry once arranged its deals to “allow” performers to make a decent living, that same possibility became impossible after the streaming boom. There is no contract for [streaming]… And they don’t have to be transparent about the numbers – it’s not about Nielsen ratings anymore,” he explained. “Broadcasting companies are notoriously opaque about their viewer numbers. Work progression. So the decade must evolve and change, for a while.”

Porter also took aim at his July 13 article from comments by Disney CEO Bob Iger, who while at the Sun Valley convention called the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unrealistic in their demands, expressing his belief that their unwavering commitment to their deal points was “extremely disruptive” to an industry weakened by it. Covid already.

“To hear Bob Iger say our demands for a living wage are unrealistic? While he makes $78,000 a day? I have no words for that, but: f**k you,” said Porter. “It’s not helpful, so I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t participate because I’m so angry… when I come back [to the states from London] I will join the picket lines.”

He is best known for making history at the Emmys, as the first openly gay black man to win a lead actor in a drama antiquitiesPorter will next appear opposite Luke Evans in the custody battle drama Our son, which had its world premiere at this year’s Tribeca Festival. He will also have a James Baldwin biopic that he will co-write and star in Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group Motion Pictures, which was announced in April.