Actor Billy Porter has made history, becoming the first openly gay black man to win the Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Porter won the award for his powerful performance as ballroom emcee Pray Tell in FX series Pose and, in doing so, brought himself one step closer to achieving the elusive E.G.O.T (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).
Porter has previously won a Tony for his portrayal of Lola in the Broadway production of Kinky Boots, as well as a Grammy for the show's cast album. Now he just needs his Oscar - and we've got a feeling the movie offers are about to start rolling in.
Taking to the stage for his acceptance speech, Porter told the crowd: "The category is love, y'all, love!"
Backstage following his win, Porter expressed just how much his role in Pose has meant to him.
“Visibility and representation are the only things that create change," he said, according to .
"It’s when we are visible that 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 where I get to speak from is the change."
A clearly emotional Porter added: “I hope that young queer people of all colours can look at me and know that they can.
“I’m so grateful that I lived long enough to see the day I could stand up in front of the world as my true authentic self,” he said. “I was told that who and what I am would never be successful - period. That’s what I was told. I did not believe them.”
