'AHS' star Billy Porter pens powerful essay on having suffered sexual abuse in childhood, uses it to urge people to vote
'Pose' and 'American Horror Story' star Billy Porter penned a powerful explicit essay about the past sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepfather in the hope to get people to vote. In a detailed uncensored essay for Out, the 49-year-old actor opens the story with a warning. "Be advised this contains very explicit content. If that makes you uncomfortable I suggest you move on now. Because what we’re not gonna do is shame the victims any longer. I have written this piece to continue with the excavation of a healing for my soul, not the readers' comfort level. You’ve been warned," reads the introduction. The harrowing abuse he experienced was between the age of 9 and 13 when his stepfather groomed him with cuddling and spooning.
"Innocent enough, right? I was longing for a father figure," states Porter. But the grooming by his stepfather escalated to him introducing baby Porter to porn starting from a softer magazine such as Playboy then to hardcore ones such as the Hustler magazine.