Billy Porter gives advice to parents upset about him wearing a dress on ‘Sesame Street’

Earlier this month it was announced that Billy Porter will be one of the celebrity guest stars making an appearance during the 51st season of Sesame Street. Now the Pose star has some advice for all the parents who were appalled to discover he’ll be wearing a dress during the broadcast.

The beloved children’s television show recently posted photos on social media from a shoot featuring the Broadway star hanging out on the iconic set. In the snapshots the actor is very proudly rocking one of his most memorable red carpet looks, specifically the velvet gender-bending Christian Siriano tuxedo gown and jacket that he wore to the 2019 Oscars.

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According to Paper Magazine, a tidal wave of outraged fans and concerned parents flooded the comments section of the post, threatening to no longer let their kids watch the show.

“So sad to see this on Sesame Street… this is not about acceptance or love. This is trying to force someone’s lifestyle onto our children, this is confusing and dangerous,” one user wrote.

Page Six also reported that a petition is also circulating that accuses Sesame Street of “[sexualizing] children using drag queens.”

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Porter responded to Page Six directly, pointing out, “If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.” He also added that he found it strange people related his Oscars dress to “perverted demon sex.”

“Like, what about me singing with a penguin [on the show] has anything to do with what I’m doing in my bedroom?,” he inquired. “The really interesting thing for me is that that’s what it’s all about when it comes to LGBTQ people — the first thing everyone wants to talk about is how we having sex.”

“Stay out of my bedroom and you will be fine — that is none of your business,” he concluded.

READ MORE: Rep. Ayanna Pressley responds after internet trolls call her “Mr. Clean”

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@theebillyporter bringing those fierce vibes to Sesame Street for #Season51 🔥 💯 • • • #sesamestreet #billyporter #thebillyporter #tonyawards #broadway #grammys #goldenglobes #cookiemonster #oscarthegrouch #elmo

A post shared by Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) on Jan 30, 2020 at 5:35am PST

The post Billy Porter gives advice to parents upset about him wearing a dress on ‘Sesame Street’ appeared first on TheGrio.

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Meet the Black Couple who Owns New York City’s First Black-Owned Sports Team

Brooklyn natives Corey and Tamara Galloway dreamt of owning a professional sports team in New York City. And they made that dream come true while making history as the owners of the National Arena League’s New York Streets—a franchise football team. The Galloway’s are now a part of a small group of African Americans who own their own professional sports team.

According to BlackBusiness.com, Corey Galloway is also the founder of a New York-based business development and direct investment company Legacy Growth Partners. He is also an avid football fan who travels all over to attend games and football practices.

Attending games regularly inspired Corey to seek ways that he could be more involved in the business side of the sports industry.

Being a black American, the Galloways experienced a number of problems while developing New York Streets due to the severe lack of representation in the industry as well as people doubting them. People even asked where their money came from. However, these negative experiences didn’t discourage the Galloways. In fact, they hope to pave the way for more black Americans to own sports teams.

“For me, as a football fan, as a football player, I acknowledge that there is a barrier of entry that’s created with ticket pricing. Not everyone is able to really enjoy the game and see the games live and upfront. So, creating that opportunity and being able to provide them with an option to see a game live—I’m just excited that those kids will be able to enthusiastically say ‘Oh, wow! I’m going to a game!’” Corey told Black Business News.

The Galloway’s have the support of colleagues and friends including football player Devale Ellis. Last year, the New York Streets played their first game at Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York.

 

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Atlanta International Airport Opens its First Black-Owned Barbershop

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport’s first barbershop and salon recently opened in the domestic terminal. But what makes this grand opening even better is that the shop is black-owned. The Barber Shop Atlanta’s owner, Roosevelt Gilbert, is the very first black entrepreneur to own a barbershop inside Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

This isn’t Gilbert’s first barbershop. In fact, he’s been in the business for more than 10 years. His first barbershop is located at North DeKalb Mall in Decatur, Georgia, and is well known in the area.

What’s impressive about the Barber Shop Atlanta is its historic place in America’s busiest airport. According to BlackBusiness.com, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport serves a little more than 100 million passengers each year and since 2009, it has been wanting to open a black-owned hair salon and/or barbershop. Unfortunately, this plan never seemed to see the light of day and according to BlackBusiness.com, it really didn’t “work out for other operators.” That is until Gilbert’s barbershop was chosen out of four other applicants who applied to open their own shops in the airport in 2014.

As Gilbert said during an interview with The anta Journal-Constitution, “I’m just glad to be open. We had to go through a lot.”

Indeed, the journey to this barbershop was a difficult one. It took more than five years of delayed and complicated planning and construction for The Barber Shop Atlanta to finally open. There were challenges to building in a working airport, specific restroom requirements had to be met, and construction could only be done at night.

The Barber Shop Atlanta is located in the North Terminal Atrium next to TGI Fridays and is open 17 hours a day according to BlackBusiness.com. The barbershop has 12 seats and a VIP Suite, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and offers a large variety of services such as both men’s and women’s haircuts, shaves, styling, perms, facials, and even massages.

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Oscars 2020: 80 Years After Hattie McDaniel Became the 1st Black Academy Award Winner, Hair Love Somehow Became The Night's Only One

On February 29, 1940, Hattie McDaniel, arguably the most well-known black actress in the entire world at the time, took to the podium at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub inside the legendary Ambassador Hotel, in Los Angeles, to accept her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress—the first ever for a black entertainer.

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Monday's Best Deals: Oral-B Gold Box, Anker Headphones, Greenies, and More

A weighted blanket, Bose ANC headphones, Watch Gold Box, and a $5 fidget cube lead off Monday’s best deals from around the web.

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