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Billy Porter’s Emmy nomination on Sunday, lead actor in a drama for his work in Pose, was the first Emmy nomination for an out gay man of color, and he won! His speech was wonderful and I got choked up watching his press conference, which I wanted to talk about. That’s below! He got asked what that’s like as a gay man of color and he explained it so well, and said that representation matters. We heard similar sentiments from Porter’s Pose castmates on Emmy night. It would have made a difference to them, as young people, to see other out LGBTQ people and other trans people, in the media. They know that inclusion matters, that the world is watching, and that people need them.

How has your win lifted the LGBTQ community?
I feel like visibility and representation are the only things that create change. When we are visible we have the power to create empathy through the way we tell stories. Being black and gay and out and being in this position and speaking from [here] is the change. I hope that young queer people of all colors can look at me and know [gets choked up] that they can.

You’re already starting to go viral on Twitter. It looks like it was reaction to RuPaul’s win. It feels side eye-esque
I don’t know what the gif looks like. There’s never a side eye coming from me. There’s never anything negative coming from me. It’s all love, it’s all light. It’s all positivity from me. Don’t come to me with that mess. They can catch you in some sort of way. RuPaul is a friend of mine. I am so proud of him. I stand on his shoulders.

Is it bittersweet that the women from Pose weren’t nominated?
I don’t live in bittersweet. I live in the positive. The fact that we’re in the building is the point. The world has changed. We’ve got another season and they’ll get their shot.

On Jonathan Van Ness coming out as HIV positive
I think once again visibility is the point. We need to take the stigma away from it. People like Jonathan allow for the stigma to be taken away. It’s not all sadness. Just like our show… we all choose life anyway. I’m happy for him.

What went through your mind when you won?
Thank you Jesus. It’s been a lot of work. It’s been a long time. I am just so grateful that I lived long enough to see the day where I can stand up in front of the world as my true authentic self. I was told that who and what I am would never be successful. I did not believe that. This is proof positive. Believe in yourself, invest in yourself, love yourself. And then you teach other people how to do it.

[From YouTube]

That first part got me choked up. Sometimes I wonder what it’s like to be expected to speak for an entire group of people, just because you’re part of that group. As a white woman I have no experience with it and can only marginally grasp what that means. It’s a lot of pressure to put on someone, but the cast of Pose is really happy to represent, to talk about their experiences growing up, and to be positive role models.

As for his alleged sideeye, here’s a link to that video. I don’t see it at all! You can only catch it in the photos and it’s just a very brief moment.

The Hollywood Reporter has more on Billy’s Oscar look, which was a custom Michael Kors suit inspired by his Studio 54 collection. It has over 130,000 tiny crystals hand embroidered and took over 170 hours to create! Before he won the Emmy, Billy’s stylist said that he wanted this to be “a monumental moment for Billy and his career,” which it definitely was. They also have a story on Billy’s disco-themed 50th birthday party in West Hollywood last week, which looks awesome. Tan France, Laverne Cox and Ricky Martin were among the guests. Also Billy is a singer and is about to record new music in November. (Hear his single, Love Yourself, here. It made me super happy.) Plus he’s just an Oscar away from an EGOT! We’ll be seeing a lot more of him and I can’t wait.

Here’s Billy’s press conference!

Photo credit: WENN, Avalon.red and Getty