Pose star Billy Porter has defiantly hit back at criticism over his new role as writer James Baldwin.
Last week it was confirmed that the Emmy-winning star will be starring as the late US icon in a new biopic, as well as co-writing the project with Fruits of Thy Labor's Dan McCabe.
However, while some online questioned whether Porter is up to the task, he shut down the naysayers in a new interview, saying he is "going to focus on the work".
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"First and foremost, the internet has created a space where it's made people think that their opinion matters at all. It doesn't," the actor said on the Tamron Hall Show. "I am 53 years old and I've dedicated my life to my art and my craft. Question me at your own peril.
"It's alright. Call me whatever you want, arrogant… whatever you want. I've worked hard for this. And my mantra, and I say it all the time – I do not now, nor will I ever, adjudicate my life or humanity in sound bites on social media.
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"I'm going to focus on the work – that's all I can do," Porter added. "People have been doubting me my whole life. This ain't nothing new. None of it is new."
Baldwin was well known for his writings that explored themes such as racial and sexual identity, such as Giovanni's Room and If Beale Street Could Talk, and was prominent in the civil rights movement in the mid-20th century.
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Speaking further about the personal connection he has to the late writer, Porter explained: "James Baldwin and his work and what he represented in the world, everything, he's one of the first people who I saw who looked like me, who represented me in the fullness: Black, and queer, and present, and unapologetic.
"His writings, his theories and observations about the world, particularly racism in America... I'm alive because I was able to see him in my early 20s."
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
