Actor Billy Porter, known for his role in The Hunger Games, says the arts are under attack in Trump’s America, claiming work is drying up for black and queer performers as “fascists” take aim at creative voices, Breitbart reports. Appearing on MSNBC’s PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton, Porter argued that “authoritarian” regimes always target artists first because, he said, “the arts have the power to reach inside of people and change the molecular structure from the inside out.”
Porter, who also starred in Cinderella, joined Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ rally at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., a protest billed as a stand against Trump and his supporters. That kind of power “is dangerous for fascists — and they know it, and that’s why they attack us first,” he claimed. The irony, Breitbart points out, is that Porter made these remarks while freely denouncing the government — the very type of dissent that true fascist regimes brutally suppress.
Declaring that “it’s a new world order,” Porter accused the nation’s leadership of lawlessness. We have a government who does not follow the rules — they don’t follow the laws,” he said, describing the protest as a “great” personal experience. When asked whether the Trump era has affected Broadway or Hollywood, the 56-year-old performer said yes, though he admitted it may be too early to measure the full impact.
“As a black, gay, out artist, I caught the wave of what we now know as performative wokeness,” Porter reflected, according to the outlet, adding, “I caught the wave of being in the center of that very progressive space, and I crashed through glass ceilings that were concrete.”
Yet the actor, whose net worth is estimated at $1 million, said those breakthroughs are losing momentum. “I have noticed the opportunities slowly drying up for the work that I do.” Porter noted that while “cop shows” are still being produced, the types of projects he would be involved in have declined in number.
As Porter lamented the state of the arts, unrest erupted at No Kings rallies nationwide. In Los Angeles, demonstrators marched downtown before chaos broke out near the U.S. Courthouse, where rioters hurled concrete at Homeland Security agents trying to hold the line, according to Breitbart. In Florida, left-wing protesters clashed with Trump supporters, some aligning with Antifa. And in Pennsylvania, Breitbart producer Matthew Perdie was reportedly shoved and threatened while filming the protests after attempting to question an elderly demonstrator.