Billy Porter says he had to sell his house because of the strikes, offers a “**** you” to Bob Iger

Porter said that in an interview with The Evening Standard, explaining that—“until you make fuck-you money”—the “life of an artist” is still check-to-check. He says he was supposed to be in a new movie and a new TV show that are no longer happening, adding, “you’ve already starved me out” in reference to that aforementioned unnamed studio executive. But, to be very explicitly clear, Porter doesn’t blame the strike for any financial hardship he’s apparently having. He knows that the real villains are people like Disney CEO Bob Iger, who makes “$78,000 a day” and refuses to seriously consider giving up what the writers and actors are asking for.

In July, Iger suggested that the writers and actors weren’t being “realistic” with their demands, and Porter had a specific response to that: “I don’t have any words for it, but: fuck you.” Porter added that “that’s not useful, so I’ve kept my mouth shut,” explaining that he hasn’t “engaged” with talking about the strike because he’s “so enraged” about the way the union members are being treated. Porter has been in London, so he hasn’t been actively involved in the strike, but he says he’ll join the picket lines when he’s back in the United States.