Billy Porter appears on ‘Straight Talk with Gay People’ in his first interview for a Russian audience

The buzz of actor Billy Porter’s performances in the television series Pose and at U.S. awards shows has arrived on the independent Russian media scene in earnest. Meduza profiled Porter on January 19, and on February 11, the award-winning performer appeared on the YouTube talk show Straight Talk with Gay People. The show, hosted by Russian-speaking journalist Karen Shainyan, features frank conversations with members of the global LGBTQ community about their lives. According to Shainyan, Porter’s interview on the program was his first with any Russian journalist.

Porter and Shainyan spoke for more than an hour about topics as various as fashion and fashion activism, Donald Trump, coming out, and “real men in heels.” Summarizing or even selecting key quotes from the interview seems almost senseless, and summarizing Porter’s presence is impossible, so we recommend simply watching the episode in full.

Billy Porter’s first Russian interview in English

Billy Porter’s first Russian interview dubbed into Russian

Straight Talk with Gay People has previously hosted writers, musicians, designers, and athletes. The show’s debut episode was an interview Michael Cunningham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours.