Billy Porter says he is grateful to be back in his element.
Nearly a year after a minor infection escalated into a life-threatening sepsis crisis that left the Pose actor in a coma, Porter opened up about returning to public life and finding renewed purpose.
“I was on my death bed for three days in a coma on an ECMO machine,” Porter told E! News’ Keltie Knight in an exclusive interview during Christian Siriano’s New York Fashion Week show on Sept. 10. “Coming out of that, I’m a whole new person. I feel like I was always on the right path but even more so now.”
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Porter took a front-row seat at the presentation alongside Brandy, Evan Rachel Wood and Tiffany Haddish, making clear that he is embracing life with fresh determination.
“The things I believe in,” he explained. “How I show up, it’s even more grounded.”
While the near-fatal health emergency was frightening, Porter said the outpouring of encouragement and affection he received during his yearlong recovery was also “overwhelming.”