Billy Porter has talked about how scary it was to almost die when he had a severe case of sepsis caused by a kidney stone problem. He said he was “dead for three days.”
The Emmy- and Tony-winning star of Pose said that his health problems started with a urinary tract infection while he was performing in a London production of Cabaret. This infection later turned into a serious kidney infection and kidney stones. Porter was first given antibiotics in the U.K., but then he went back to the U.S. to start rehearsals for the Broadway revival of Cabaret. Unfortunately, his symptoms came back with terrible pain.
Porter remembered going to the hospital, where doctors found a kidney stone stuck in his urethra. They put in a stent to change the flow of his urine and gave him stronger antibiotics before breaking up the stones with surgery. Surgeons said they found “so much pus, bile, and infection” behind the stone that the infection spread quickly and he went into urosepsis within minutes.
The star said that his health got worse so quickly that he needed life support. He said he was “dead for three days” during the whole thing. He said that the medical team worked hard to keep him stable as his body shut down, and he gives credit to doctors and specialists for saving his life. Porter has since called himself a “walking miracle,” which shows how close he came to dying from the infection.
Porter’s fight with sepsis made him have to leave his lead role in the 2025 Broadway revival of Cabaret right away so he could get emergency care and take a long time to get better. The Grammy, Emmy, and Tony winner is now using his fame to spread the word about how dangerous untreated infections and sepsis can be. He is telling fans to take symptoms seriously and get medical help right away.
