Billy Porter makes history as first ever man to cover Allure Magazine
The 'Kinky Boots' star has had a whirlwind couple of months
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Billy Porter has made history as the first ever man to cover Allure Magazine.
The American women’s magazine revealed its “The Art of Beauty” issue today (January 8) and for the first time in the history of the long-running publication, the cover star is male, and none other than Kinky Boots and American Horror Story star Billy Porter.
In the groundbreaking cover interview, Porter opens up about how he was sent to a psychologist at the age of five because he was a ‘sissy’ and his family were afraid.
He said: “The hetero normative construct that masculinity is better silenced me for many years. It was like my masculinity was in question before I could even comprehend the thought.
@theebillyporter stars in The Art of Beauty issue 🌟 The actor, singer, and style icon opened up to Ashley C. Ford about being unapologetically himself and owning his power: “I know exactly what I’m here for.” Read the full cover story here: https://t.co/pqXCr1TXxf pic.twitter.com/ezJb8Nil2m
— Allure (@Allure_magazine) January 9, 2020
“I was sent to a psychologist at five years old because I was a sissy and my family was afraid. I love them. They didn’t know. It was a different time.
“I was in kindergarten, being taken to this white man in this big building to just talk to him for an hour every Wednesday after school.
“That’s one of the first memories I have as a child, that something’s wrong with you and you need to be fixed based on ‘You’re not masculine enough.’
“I carried that with me for my whole life until, like, two and a half minutes ago. You know?”