New York, New York - Billy Porter has revealed that he's been HIV positive for the last 14 years! The actor shared that portraying his character Pray Tell on the show Pose helped him "say everything that I wanted to say through a surrogate."

On Wednesday, the American Horror Story alum wrote a powerful op-ed piece for The Hollywood Reporter where he shared that he was diagnosed with HIV in 2007.

Porter, who is married to Adam Smith, is openly gay but chose to keep his illness to private.

"I was the generation that was supposed to know better, and it happened anyway. I was on the precipice of obscurity for about a decade or so, but 2007 was the worst of it. By February, I had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. By March, I signed bankruptcy papers. And by June, I was diagnosed HIV-positive," Porter wrote.

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He had been living with his "shame" for all this time, but his role on the FX series gave him the courage to tell his mother and castmates the truth.

"I told them the truth because, at a certain point, the truth is the responsible road. The truth is the healing. And I hope this frees me. I hope this frees me so that I can experience real, unadulterated joy so that I can experience peace so that I can experience intimacy so that I can have sex without shame," the Broadway star added.

Billy Porter is set to appear as the "Fairy Godparent" in the 2021 Cinderella film, which also stars Camilla Cabello and Idina Menzel.

Here's to living your truth and being you, Billy!