Out actor Billy Porter, who plays Pray
Tell on FX’s Pose, said in a recent interview that ending the
series was “bittersweet.”
The groundbreaking drama ends on June 6
after three seasons.
Pose made history for its large
cast of transgender actors, including Mj Rodriguez, Dominique
Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar, and Angelica Ross.
Porter in 2019 won an Emmy for his
portrayal of Pray Tell, making him the first openly gay black man to
be nominated for and win in a leading Emmy acting category.
The show’s final season takes place in
1994 – roughly three years after the events in season 2 – as the
AIDS crisis hits its peak in New York City.
During a recent appearance on Good
Morning America, Porter was asked how he was feeling about the
show ending.
“It’s bittersweet,” Porter
said. “And I feel complete.”
“You know, I am old enough to have
lived through the AIDS crisis. And I always thought, in a survivors
guilt kind of way, why did I survive? Why? And when Pose came
around and the character of Pray Tell presented itself in my life, I
understood why,” an emotional Porter said, alluding to his
character’s battle with AIDS.
Porter added that the show’s AIDS
storyline presents many parallels to COVID-19.
