Actor Billy Porter said “Black people have replaced the Jews” in today’s world during an interview on Monday about his revival of the musical “Cabaret” with actors of color.
In the play, Porter plays “Emcee,” an American fleeing the Jim Crow South in the 1930s who ends up in a concentration camp in Europe. He told “CBS Mornings” this was the first time three Black actors had played the lead roles in the musical, and compared how Black people are being treated today to how Jews were treated during the rise of the Nazi party in Germany.
“This is the first time in the 60-year history that all three of those characters have been African-American in a commercial production,” he said. “And with what’s going on in the world right now, Black people have replaced the Jews in this sort of configuration of what we’re going through.”
Cabaret’s original plot portrays a nightclub in Berlin as the Nazis rise to power in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and has several prominent Jewish characters.
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Porter described the production as “a call to action” for audiences.
“I hope this piece is when you come to see it, you know, it lights a fire under booties, so that we can remind ourselves that love always wins, and all we have to do is get out in the streets and do our work,” he continued.
“CBS Mornings” anchor Gayle King agreed, remarking, “We need that reminder.”
The clip was first flagged by TikTok influencer Ben Lebofsky on X.
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“I’m sorry- Black people have WHAT??” he wrote in response to the clip. His post reached over one million views in 48 hours.
Porter also told CBS that he was turned down from auditioning for the role in the late 1990s but feels like getting the part now is timely.
“With the state of the world right now and with art as my activism, as my resistance, I’m right where I’m supposed to be for this piece,” he said.
A spokesperson for Porter did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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