Billy Porter slams criticism of his James Baldwin biopic: 'Question me at your own peril'

Billy Porter is not here for anyone questioning his ability to portray James Baldwin in an upcoming biopic he's also co-writing.

The Emmy-winning Pose performer addressed skepticism over his portrayal of the influential American writer in the upcoming film after Tamron Hall asked him about skeptics who don't believe he can play the part on Wednesday's episode of her talk show.

"First and foremost, the internet has created a space where it's made people think that their opinion matters at all," Porter said. "I am 53 years old and I've dedicated my life to my art and my craft. Question me at your own peril."

He continued, "Call it whatever you want, arrogant… I've worked hard for this, and my mantra — and I say it all the time — I do not now, nor will I ever, adjudicate my life or humanity in sound bites on social media. I'm going to focus on the work — that's all I can do. People have been doubting me my whole life. This ain't nothing new."

Porter told Hall that the movie is in its gestation phase, with the script, which he's penning with Dan McCabe, still in progress. He also revealed his inspiration for the project, citing Baldwin's writing with saving his life when he was a young queer man.

"James Baldwin and his work and what he represented in the world, everything, he's one of the first people who I saw who looked like me, who represented me in the fullness: Black, queer, and present," Porter explained. "I'm alive because I was able to see him in my early 20s, and I met an English professor about a couple of years back who didn't know who he was — an English professor, at a college, teaching English at a college, who didn't know who James Baldwin was. This is unacceptable. It's completely unacceptable."

The film will be made in collaboration with Byron Allen's Allen Media Group Motion Pictures, though other details are still forthcoming as Porter finishes the screenplay, an adaptation of David Leeming's 1994 book James Baldwin: A Biography.

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