Billy Porter is the first openly gay black man to win a best actor drama Emmy

Billy Porter became the first openly gay black man to win an Emmy for a leading performance in a drama Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019.

• Porter won for “Pose.”
• Porter can also likely be considered the first openly gay man — black or white — to win the category.
• 1959 winner Raymond Burr was purported to be in a relationship with a man for over 30 years, but was also married to a woman for four years previously and never publicly acknowledged his sexuality.
• It’s worth noting that Television Academy does not officially track the sexual orientation of nominees or winners (much less when or if they became public about it), so any so called “records” are often based on the actors’ own announcements of their sexuality.
• “The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons has won multiple times for lead actor in the comedy category, though at least one appears to be before his sexuality was public knowledge.
• Sean Hayes and David Hyde Pierce have also won in supporting comedic role categories as well, though Hayes’ win was also before he officially confirmed his sexuality.
• Kevin Spacey was nominated, but did not win, for the lead role in a drama for his work on “House of Cards” before he publicly confirmed his sexuality.
• Porter, meanwhile, already holds a Tony and Grammy for his work in the musical “Kinky Boots” and the accompanying cast recording.
• This means he would only need to win an Oscar (for a film production or on camera role) to become a member of the exclusive EGOT club.