Billy Porter says he has been forced to sell his house amid Hollywood strikes

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Billy Porter says he has been forced to sell his house amid Hollywood strikes
Billy Porter says he has been forced to sell his house amid Hollywood strikes

Billy Porter has said he gets "no more money" from Pose following the show's final episode airing, after admitting he was having to sell his house amid industry strikes.

The actor, 53, played Pray Tell in the acclaimed FX show, which ran for three seasons from 2018 until 2021. Billy won a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance in the role and was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards.

He recently spoke about how actors used to make money from residuals - where they would be paid based on re-runs of projects - amid the show being available on streaming platforms. Actors and writers have suggested that streaming has severely reduced their residual payments, amid the ongoing strikes in the US within the industry.

Billy Porter says he has been forced to sell his house amid Hollywood strikes qhiquqikdihkinvBilly Porter starred as Pray Tell on the acclaimed FX series Pose (Anthony Harvey/REX/Shutterstock)
Billy Porter says he has been forced to sell his house amid Hollywood strikesThe actor won a Primetime Emmy Award for the role (Getty Images)

The labour union the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has been on strike since July 14. It coincides with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) having been on strike since May 2.

Discussing the strike, Billy told PA news agency: "I'm not trying to get any sympathy, this is the truth of it, my residual checks were six cents." The actor said he's a "freelance worker" and went on to discuss the acclaimed show.

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He told the outlet: "So Pose has been over now since 2021, I don't get no more money from that. I'm supposed to, which is why we're striking." Billy continued: "I'm supposed to be getting money from that, but I ain't."

The performer said he still has to worry about "paying" his bills, despite having various projects over the last year. This includes releasing music and starring in the film Our Son (2023), as well as the musical A Strange Loop, which he co-produced, continuing its run at the Barbican Centre in London.

Billy Porter says he has been forced to sell his house amid Hollywood strikesHe has more recently released music and starred in films like Our Son (2023) (Getty Images)

Billy said he's "very successful" and is paid "cheque to pay cheque". He added: "Still, I have not made f*** money just yet, soon, but not just yet." The actor said that although "difficult" at times, he feels "grateful" to do something he loves.

His comments about the ongoing strike action come after the award-winning actor stated in a recent interview, that was published last week, that he was having to sell his house. Billy told the Evening Standard: "I have to sell my house."

He added: "Because we're on strike. And I don't know when we're gonna go back [to work]." Billy added that he was meant to be working on a new film and a new TV show starting in September but "none of that is happening".

Joel Leaver

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