Billy Porter revealed that he has to sell his house over the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike impacting his finances.
Thousands of actors and entertainers are striking in Hollywood and around the country with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) as they demand a rise in pay and residuals in the streaming era.
And while the strikes may have a positive outcome in store for actors, Porter is already dealing with the negatives of the situation.
“I have to sell my house. I don’t know when we’re gonna go back [to work],” the “Pose” star, 53, told the Evening Standard.
“The life of an artist, until you make f–k-you money, which I haven’t made yet, is still check-to-check,” he added.
Porter, who played ballroom emcee Pray Tell in “Pose” from 2018 to 2021, revealed he was gearing up to work on a couple of upcoming projects in September.
However, due to the strike, “none of that is happening,” according to Porter.
“So to the person who said, ‘We’re going to starve them out until they have to sell their apartments’ — you’ve already starved me out,” Porter told the outlet.
The actor’s comments come after it was reported that film execs were willing to “allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” according to Deadline.
The newly-single Porter also slammed Disney CEO Bob Iger who said actors’ expectations of treatment are “just not realistic.”
“The business has evolved,” Porter said, referring to the streaming era of film and TV.
“So the contract has to evolve and change, period. To hear Bob Iger say that our demands for a living wage are unrealistic? While he makes $78,000 a day?”
“I don’t have any words for it, but: f—k you,” he said. “[But] that’s not useful, so I’ve kept my mouth shut. I haven’t engaged because I’m so enraged… When I go back I will join the picket lines,” Porter added.
The current strike marks the first time the 160,000-member-strong SAG-AFTRA has walked out from film and television since 1980.
Source link
