The two-time Tony, Grammy, Emmy and NAACP Award winner attended his Madame Tussauds wax figure reveal in New York City. The celebration was held just days ahead of NYC Pride.
The unveiling comes just ahead of New York City’s annual Pride March, of which Porter will serve as the Grand Marshal this year. Madame Tussauds New York is an official sponsor of NYC Pride 2023.
Billy Porter has been honored with a wax figure at Madame Tussauds. The Tony, Emmy and Grammy winner’s statue will be available to view in the Times Square-based museum as of June 21.
On June 25, the wax figure will be on temporary display at the Madame Tussauds’ booth at NYC PrideFest (Fourth Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets) and will be returned to its permanent home at Madame Tussauds on June 26.
“She’s interactive, dahlings! When my manager Bill Butler told me that Madame Tussauds called, I screamed! Madame Tussauds is known all over the world. I am Black first and Queer second. Representation is really important for our kids and for our adults, too!”
Porter said in the video.
“And for folks to come in and to see this type of representation of themselves in the world? This is bigger than me,” Porter captioned an Instagram video upload of yesterday’s unveiling.
“The thing I like about New York is that the life is on the pavement,” Porter says in the video. “All you have to do is walk outside and immerse yourself. And you will find it.”
The wax figure captures Porter’s 2020 Grammys red carpet look, complete with a working replica of the revolving hat that obscured and then revealed his face. His turquoise pantsuit is accompanied by diamond and silver accessories and bold chrome eyeshadow.
“My management team called, and they were like, ‘You have to call us right away!’ And I was like, ‘What, what, what?’” Porter shares, adding in a booming voice, “And they were like ‘Madame Tussauds has called!’”
At first, Porter wasn’t fond of the idea to have something covering his wax figure’s face, but then his stylist proposed a hat that opened and closed, to which he responded, “Well, that would be a gag!”
Fittingly, this outstanding moment comes during Pride Month, a time that he specifically planned to have the wax figure revealed, due to his tremendous support for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Gay pride is a thing all around the world. I stand at many intersections. So I need to make sure everybody knows that I’m Black, too. Black first, queer second.”
“And, this stands at the intersection of all of those races. You know, pride is a celebration of all cultures, right? We’re queer and every culture has queerness in it. And so I’m just really happy that this gets to stand in that space.”
