Emmy Award winner Billy Porter, 56, revisited his horrific and near-deadly run-in with sepsis when he had to abruptly exit the Broadway play “Cabaret” to be admitted into the hospital and placed on life support.
Porter, star of the hit series “Pose,” opened up on March 2 on TS Madison’s iHeartMedia’s “Outlaws” podcast about the details of his sepsis, saying that it got so bad — he was dead for three days.
The multitalented entertainer explained how he went to the doctors for a “routine check” when they found a kidney stone “trapped in [his] urethra.”
Billy Porter Says He Is a ‘Walking Miracle’
Porter went on to detail the gruesome revelations of exactly what was going on inside of his body that he had been unaware of before his wellness check.
“When they got in there, there was so much pus, and bile, and infection behind the stone. It bubbled up and I went uroseptic in minutes,” he disclosed.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, urosepsis is a form of “sepsis that begins in your urinary tract. It happens when a urinary tract infection (UTI) goes untreated and spreads to your kidneys.”
The Grammy Award winner said that his infection was so severe that specialists placed him on an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Machine (ECMO machine), a form of life support.
That’s the moment things became grave for Porter, who recalled on the podcast, “I was dead for three days,” adding, “I am a miracle. I’m a walking miracle.”
Billy Porter Almost Lost His Leg While in a Coma
Porter nearly lost his leg as well, explaining that when doctors took him off life support, they told him that his leg “had gone into compartment syndrome, which is when the muscles close in on themselves and cut off the oxygen.”
“So they had to cut me open on either side of my leg while I was in a coma, and from my knee to my hip, and leave it open for two days so they could save my leg,” he bravely shared. “I am so grateful to be here. It is such a gift.”
Porter’s near-death experience happened in September 2025, People reported. At the time, his team released a press statement, saying that the beloved star was experiencing a “serious case” of sepsis and had been advised “to maintain a restful schedule” for several weeks.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, sepsis is a “life-threatening reaction to an infection that causes your immune system to harm healthy tissues and organs. It can develop quickly and lead to organ failure or death without urgent care.”
