Turns Out, Billy Porter Likes to Wear Sweats at Home Just as Much as You Do

published Oct 28, 2020
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Credit: Photo: Getty Images, Graphic: Apartment Therapy

Perfect Night In is a series where we ask actors, artists, entrepreneurs, and beyond what a picturesque evening at home looks like.

Billy Porter is a Broadway icon and solo musician, outspoken advocate for racial equality, and a fashion statement maker on the red carpet. And he’s only just getting started.

This was a big year for Porter: he dropped his single “Finally Ready,” he was featured in Vanity Fair‘s “You Said Hope” portfolio, and he was chosen as one of TIME‘s “Most Influential People of 2020,” not to mention he had a recent collaboration with LG on their Homestyle campaign. It truly goes without saying that we can’t wait to see what he does next.

But while the world waits, we got to sit down with the superstar himself to ask how would spend his perfect night at home—no rules, no boundaries. Let’s just say, we hope that Porter invites us over when he does.

Set the Scene

Describe your perfect homebody scene in five words: Cooking, husband, TV, drinks, writing.

Are you alone or with someone else? I’m with my husband.

What’s your night-in uniform? Sweat clothes, a robe, sometimes I put on PJs, but I’m generally in sweats [and] Birkenstocks.  

What two people, dead or alive, would you let crash your night? I would say James Baldwin and Whitney Houston.

Now Playing

TV or a movie? It just depends on the day and moment, so it’s television shows and movies. It’s both.

What are you watching? We’re watching “Ratched” and “The Boys in the Band.”

Silence or music? It depends on the evening. Sometimes it’s truly silence, then sometimes there’s music, sometimes there’s an audiobook in my ear.

E-books or the real deal? Audiobooks.

What are you reading? I just finished “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson and “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo, and I’m in the middle of “We Were Eight Years in Power” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Board games: yay or nay? Nay.

What’s Cooking

Order in or cook for yourself? I’m cooking 95 percent of the time.

What are you eating? I cook to nourish myself, so it just depends. I go for recipes from Home Chef or Rachael Ray, or I’ll go on the Cooking Channel and find stuff.

What drink are you pouring? If I’m drinking, it’s tequila because that’s the least amount of sugar—it’s sweetened with agave—and I’m diabetic. But I also love champagne, so I’ll have a shot and drink some champagne if I want to.

What’s for dessert? It would be poundcake or cinnamon coffee cake, something like that—I like cake.

Late-night snack? We generally have the healthier things in the house like trail mixes, just so we can snack on things and not gain too much weight.  

Take Care

Do you have a self-care ritual? I do have a face routine where I wash my face, I use toner, I use creams, all the things. Kiehl’s products is the longest product in my life.

What do you try to avoid at all costs? I try to avoid working after 6 or 7 p.m., close the computer and not do any more work. That’s a new thing as of quarantine and I like it.

Candles: yay or nay? (if yay, what’s your favorite?) Yay. Right now, I like this Baxter of California ash smell, any Molton Brown candles, and Michael Aram candles.

Face masks: yay or nay? Yes.

Bubble bath: yay or nay? Nay. In theory, yes, but I don’t ever do it.

Chores: yay or nay? Nay.

Ideal bedtime? In quarantine, my ideal bedtime—or the time my body says is ideal, because I fall asleep with the television watching me—is probably about 9:30 or 10 p.m. We’re waking up between 5 and 7 in the morning, and I’m very productive in the morning.

Thanks for chatting with us, Billy!