Billy Porter has assured his fans that he is getting better following some “very challenging” months after contracting sepsis in September.
Billy Porter has been through some “very challenging” months after being hospitalised with sepsis.
The 56-year-old star uploaded a video to Instagram on Monday (22.12.25) where he explained how he had been admitted to hospital as a result of his illness, which was considered as life-threatening.
Billy said: “I’m here first and foremost to say happy holidays, Merry Christmas, happy Kwanzaa, happy Hanukkah, and everything in between.”
The Pose actor continued: “Some of you may or may not know that I was in hospital very ill this fall with urosepsis.
“It was not easy. It’s been a very, very challenging four months. And I want everybody to know that I am on the road to a full recovery. I’m not there yet, but I’m on the road to that.
“I wanted to thank everybody for your prayers, and your love, sending me all the vibes. I felt every single one of them.”
An emotional Porter concluded: “I know that I’m alive today.”
Billy’s illness forced him to pull out of the Broadway production of Cabaret – in which he had played the Emcee – in September, with the production closing a month early as a result.
Producer Adam Speers said in a statement: “His doctors are confident that he will make a full recovery but have advised him to maintain a restful schedule these next couple of weeks.
“Billy was an extraordinary Emcee, bringing his signature passion and remarkable talent. We wish Billy a speedy recovery and I look forward to working with him again in the very near future.”
The producer admitted it had been a “painful” decision to end the show’s run prematurely.
The statement continued: “It is with a heavy heart that we have made the painful decision to end our Broadway run on September 21. On behalf of all the producers, we’re so honoured to have been able to bring this version of John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff’s important masterpiece, Cabaret, to New York and to have opened the doors to our own Kit Kat Club for the year and a half we have been here.”
Billy had described his role in the musical as a “gift and such a blessing”, particularly after being turned down when he attempted to audition for Cabaret’s 1998 Broadway revival.
He told People magazine: “I feel really great to be doing this.
“This show in particular, at this time in American history, it’s really important for me.
“Art has the power to heal, art has the power to transform. My art is my calling, my purpose, my ministry, my resistance, my activism, my hope, my joy, my love. It’s everything to me. And so to be able to express myself this way is such a gift and such a blessing.”
Billy Porter ‘on the road to a full recovery’ after sepsis hospitalisation
