Billy Porter claims work is ‘drying up’ for black and queer artists under Trump administration

WASHINGTON, DC: Actor Billy Porter is sounding the alarm on what he sees as a shrinking lane for Black and queer artists, arguing that opportunities are “slowly drying up” in President Donald Trump’s America.

Porter made the remarks while joining a high-profile protest at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where demonstrators warned that Trump’s cultural agenda is threatening creative independence.

The rally drew household names such as Jane Fonda, Joan Baez, and Jim Acosta. It comes as the Kennedy Center faces a planned two-year closure following staffing cuts and a shift in programming direction.

The demonstration also served as a prelude to the "No Kings" protests. Organizers estimate that more than eight million people turned out nationwide for coordinated demonstrations across all 50 states, spanning over 3,300 rallies in both major cities and smaller communities. 

The protests were among the largest single-day mobilizations in recent U.S. history. They were largely fueled by concerns over immigration crackdowns, the escalating war with Iran, economic unease, and what critics describe as growing executive overreach.

Porter’s claims on ‘attacks’ against the arts

Speaking to Al Sharpton on MSNBC’s PoliticsNation, Porter argued that artists are often early targets in authoritarian systems.

“Authoritarian governments go after the arts first, because the arts have the power to reach inside of people and change the molecular structure from the inside out,” he said, adding that such influence “is dangerous for fascists — and they know it, and that’s why they attack us first.”

“It’s a new world order. We have a government who does not follow the rules — they don’t follow the laws,” Porter insisted, noting that attending the protest “felt really great for me.”

When asked whether the Trump administration’s impact is already being felt in Hollywood and on Broadway, the 56-year-old said, “Yes,” though he cautioned it’s “a bit soon” to fully assess.

“As a black, gay, out artist, I caught the wave of what we now know as performative wokeness,” Porter said, “I caught the wave of being in the center of that very progressive space, and I crashed through glass ceilings that were concrete.”

Still, he suggested the momentum has shifted. “I have noticed the opportunities slowly drying up for the work that I do,” Porter said. However, he contrasted his experience with the continued production of more traditional programming.

“The Midwest CBS shows and the cop shows — all of that stuff still exists,” he said. “But when it’s time to talk about heart, when it’s time to talk about connection, when it’s time to talk about people that don’t look like everybody else — there’s not a lot of that work going on right now.”

Porter's call to speak out

Porter was pressed on what public figures should do with the energy from the protests.

“People feel safer when we come out, and we speak,” he explained. “They feel like, ‘OK, maybe I can give something of myself and join… and not feel alone.’”

“This is not the normal resistance,” Porter added. “We have to redefine what going high looks like in this new world order.”