Billy Porters says ‘I have to sell my house’ because of the ongoing strikes: ‘You’ve already starved me’
Billy Porter said ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes have forced him to make tough financial decisions.
“I need to sell my house,” the Pose star, 53 – who lives in New York City – revealed to the Evening Standard. “I don’t know when we’re going back (to work).”
Billy, who is in England promoting his music career, explained: ‘The life of an artist, until you make f**k-you money, which I haven’t made yet, is still check-to-check. ‘
He said two of his upcoming projects have been scrapped because Hollywood is at a standstill.
“I was supposed to be in a new movie and a new TV show starting in September. None of that happens,” claimed the Emmy winner.
Tough decisions: Billy Porter says constant strikes by actors and writers have left him no choice but to sell his house; seen in July 2023
“I have to sell my house,” the Pose star, 53, revealed to the Evening Standard. ‘I don’t know when we’re going back (to work)’; seen in Pose (2020)
Billy didn’t name either project, but IMDB has him listed to star in the upcoming James Baldwin biopic.
“So to the person who said ‘we’re going to starve them until they have to sell their apartments’ you’ve already starved me.”
That last bloom may have been a reference to an article by deadlinein which an unnamed Hollywood executive said, “The endgame is to let things drag on until union members start losing their apartments and their homes.”
Another insider called the strategy “a cruel but necessary evil.”
Representatives for the writers met with studio executives last week to talk, but nothing was settled.
The economic impact is being felt especially hard in California, where a large portion of SAG-AFTRA’s 160,000 members live.
The film and television industry accounts for more than 700,000 jobs and about $70 billion a year in wages, according to the California Film Commission.
Georgia, which has a strong film production industry, has also been affected by the strike.
The film industries in the South are estimated to produce at least $3.5 billion in annual wages and more than 46,000 jobs. CBS news.
Picketing: Big names like Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei have taken to the picket line in recent weeks in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike
Music: Billy has been to London to promote his music career and his new single Broke a Sweat
Wages: one of the biggest problems is wages, including money from residuals. “The streaming companies are notoriously opaque with their ratings. The company has evolved. So the contract has to evolve and change, period” (Pictured in New York in June)
Unrealistic: Hollywood studio executives have called the striking actors’ and writers’ demands unrealistic. Billy replied, “To hear (Disney CEO) Bob Iger say our living wage demands are unrealistic? While he earns $78,000 a day?’
US news and world report found that the median salary for an actor was $46,960 in 2021.
A-list stars including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts contributed to an emergency fund that has raised more than $15 million for unemployed actors.
No such emergency fund has been announced for the 11,000 striking writers.
One of the biggest blockers to an agreement is payments and residuals for projects viewed on streaming services.
“There’s no contract for it … And they don’t have to be transparent with the numbers — they’re not Nielsen ratings anymore,” Porter said.
“The streaming companies are notoriously opaque with their ratings. The company has evolved. So the contract has to evolve and change, period.’
He continued, “To hear (Disney CEO) Bob Iger say that our living wage demands are unrealistic? While he earns $78,000 a day? Child, we must get our money!’