Billy Porter has opened up about the traumatic medical emergency that almost cost him his life last year. Sharing details on a podcast this week, the actor revealed he was “dead for three days” and in a coma due to sepsis.
Billy Porter has opened up about his terrifying health scare
On Outlaws with TS Madison, Billy recalled going to the doctors for a regular check-up in September 2025. During the appointment, he was found to have a kidney stone stuck in his urethra, which caused a severe infection that escalated into sepsis. Things were so serious that Billy was quickly placed on a life support machine.
“When they got in there, there was so much puss and bile and infection behind the stone,” he explained. “It bubbled up, and I went uroseptic in minutes.”
“I was dead for three days,” the Pose star continued. “I am a miracle. I’m a walking miracle.”
As well as the kidney stone, another serious complication involving Billy’s leg arose while he was in the coma. “They had to cut me open on either side of my leg,” he said, explaining the incision went from his knee to his hip and was left open for “two days” to prevent an amputation.
In time, Billy thankfully made a full recovery. Although he was not able to take on his much-anticipated role in Broadway’s Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Nonetheless, he has a new outlook on life.
“I am so grateful to be here,” he said. “It is such a gift.”
Elsewhere in the episode, TS Madison and Billy chatted about his career across the decades and his mental health. “This is one of the most moving conversations I’ve heard in a long time,” someone commented on Instagram after the episode came out.
TELL US – DID YOU KNOW HOW SERIOUS BILLY’S HEALTH CONDITION WAS AT THE TIME? AND, DID YOU ENJOY HEARING HIM ON TS MADISON’S PODCAST?
