Billy Porter Details How Accused Brought Authenticity to Its Portrayal of the Drag Scene

Facts are facts.

That's one of the big takeaways from the Feb. 21 episode of Accused—and director Billy Porter is once again excited to tell a queer, Black story with authenticity.

"What I'm really excited about is being in a position and having a platform where I can be at the helm of telling our stories authentically for our people, whoever the 'our' is," he exclusively told E! News at the episode's premiere party. "For so long, 'our' stories have been told from people who don't have anything to do with us. What's great is being able to come into these spaces and lead it in what I hope is felt and received as the most authentic it can be."

After making his feature film debut with 2022's Anything's Possible, the Emmy winner moved to network TV for his next foray behind the camera. So how does it compare?

"The big difference is what you can and cannot do, what you can and cannot say," Billy explained. "Anything violent is fine, but you can't say s--t. The priorities are all f--ed up."

He continued, "You can kill anybody you want, all the violence in the world is actually okay. But I can't say s--t. Weird. It's weird. That's weird."

"Robyn's Story," starring J. Harrison Ghee, centers around Kevin, a Bostonian who shines as their drag queen persona Robyn Blind. However, when Kevin/Robyn find themselves falling for a man trapped in the closet, their complicated relationship soon reaches new extremes.

Meanwhile, Broadway star J. (from Kinky Boots and Some Like It Hot) preached the importance of love and self-acceptance. "The best part about telling Robyn's story is about telling the truth, getting to the heart of the matter," J. noted. "A lot of times we deal with things out of fear, and often times we really need to base them in love. Finding yourself and the truth of who you are really gets you to a better place."

Accused, based on the 2010 British anthology series of the same name, comes from TV producer Howard Gordon, of 24 and Homeland fame. He revealed how the new iteration of "Robyn's Story," written by Daniel Pearle, improved upon Sean Bean's episode 13 years later.

"It's American politics and also culture and society," Howard explained. "The main character that Sean Bean played was a lonely, broken character, whereas Robyn is very actualized. She has her friends, her life. I don't think it was fetishizing drag, I think we normalized it more."

In fact, the premiere party at The Abbey in West Hollywood on Jan. 30 even included a drag performance—with queens Naysha Lopez, Kyra Jeté, Calypso Jetè Balmain and Allusia. The new episode also stars Willam, Eva Reign, Kristen Connolly and Chris Coy as well as a few musical numbers. And that's a fact.

In the end, Billy is just happy celebrating his success, admitting, "I did a good job, child. They threw me a party."

Make sure to witness "Robyn's Story" on Accused, Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 9 p.m. EST on Fox.

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