Just a note before we start, this episode contains language, some listeners might find difficult to hear,

so check the show notes for details.

Hello, I'm Fern Cotton and this is Happy Place, the show that celebrates every facet of what makes you

you. Today I'm chatting to Billy Porter.

I know that what I'm doing and the work that I'm doing is necessary, particularly right now,

being black and queer, with a platform to speak truth to power, and when I was growing up,

there was a thing called protest music that, you know, I haven't seen a whole lot of this time

around the regressive sun. You know, we win, love always wins and all of that, and as artists,

I feel like it's our responsibility to get in these conversations.

Billy began his stage and screen career in the 90s, but it's only more recently that his

profile has gone absolutely stratospheric. He's released a brand new single called Broker Sweat,

and it was really eye-opening to hear in this chat how different his experience of making music

this time round has been compared to when he started 30 years ago. I spoke to Billy while he was in

New York just last week, and we talked about why he feels artists have a real political obligation

to speak out if they can. Art could be such a powerful medium for all of us when we really feel

we have something to say. I also wanted to hear in his own words why he feels clothes are so

empowering because my god, his clothes are epic. I think you're absolutely going to love this chat.