Billy Porter has been left “heartbroken” following the death of his mother. She was 79.
The 54-year-old actor paid tribute to his late mom, Cloerinda Porter-Ford, and admitted she will “forever” be in his heart.
“With heavy hearts we announce the passing of our loving mother, Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter-Ford. We were right beside her when she took her last breath, wrapped in our arms. Mommy lived life to the fullest despite physical limitations pressed upon her. She was the personification of true Christianity and her unconditional love is a template that the world could benefit from employing. Her example is what we continue to strive for. We are heartbroken she is no longer here with us, but find solace that her suffering has ended. Her fight was long and hard — she did it with grace and integrity. Mommy will remain forever in our hearts as she continues to guide us from above, as she has done on this Earth.
“From Labor to Reward …, ” he wrote on Instagram.
In 2017, Porter told how his mother was “born with a degenerative disability that has only progressed and worsened,”
“That woman has got out of bed every single day of her life and has fought for her life when everybody on the planet said that he shouldn’t even bother,” he said at the time in an interview for “Build Series.”
“I don’t know how to be anything else when you have an example like that. You can’t be anything else,” he added.
The “Pose” star revealed in 2021 that he had been diagnosed HIV-positive in 2007, and he only told his mother 14 years later, too.
“You’ve been carrying this around for 14 years? Don’t ever do this again. I’m your mother, I love you no matter what. And I know I didn’t understand how to do that early on, but it’s been decades now,” he told The Hollywood Reporter about what his mom said when he told her.
