Billy Porter has revealed shocking new details about his near-fatal sepsis battle that left him clinically dead for three days and required emergency leg-saving surgery while he was in a coma.
The Emmy and Tony-winning actor, known for his groundbreaking role in Pose, shared the harrowing story on TS Madison's Outlaws podcast, describing a medical emergency that began with a urinary infection during his West End run in London earlier this year.
Billy Porter in Cabaret. Marc Brenner
"I was dead for three days. I am a miracle. I'm a walking miracle," Porter emotionally recounted. "When I woke up, they told me my leg had developed compartment syndrome, where muscles constrict and cut off oxygen. They had to cut me open on both sides of my leg while I was in a coma, leaving it open from knee to hip for two days to save it."
The crisis began when Porter developed a urinary infection that he claims wasn't properly treated in the UK, allowing it to spread to his kidneys. When kidney stone pain returned during Broadway rehearsals for Cabaret, he checked himself into the hospital, where doctors discovered a stone stuck in his urethra with "so much pus, bile, and infection behind the stone."
"It bubbled up, and I went uroseptic in minutes," Porter explained, describing how he was immediately placed on life support as the infection turned septic.
The medical emergency forced Porter to withdraw from the Broadway production of Cabaret just weeks before its September closing, causing the revival to end early. The West End production continues without him.
Now fully recovered, Porter expressed profound gratitude: "I'm so grateful to be here." The actor, whose departure from Cabaret came after the show received nine Tony nominations in 2024, is set to appear in an upcoming film, marking his triumphant return to work after surviving what he describes as a true medical miracle.
