Billy Porter’s New Single Is A “Call To Arms” For People To Vote In 2020
Emmy-winning actor Billy Porter has released a new single, a cover of Stephen Stills and Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth. This iconic 1986 protest song has now been covered by Porter, who says he has been a “very political person”, as a call to action for young people to vote in the upcoming presidential election in the United States this November.
“Back in the day, protest music was a big thing. Being political as an artist, taking a stand, having a voice, using your platform to speak truth to power — that was a thing. And I wanted that to be a thing again, because that's the only way I can contribute,” Porter said in an interview with the ‘Hollywood Reporter’.
“The song was written and performed sort of during the Civil Rights Era, the Vietnam War, it was protest music and I wanted to have a hand in bringing that back and speaking truth directly to power.”
Commenting on how America is fighting the coronavirus pandemic under President Donald Trump, Porter said that “We would not be in this position had that task force been in place. Period. The end. It's Trump's fault," an aggrieved Porter says. "It's his administration's fault where we are — not the actual pandemic, but how it's been dealt with. It's the fault of the administration that's in office right now.”
For that, he explains that this anthem aims to inspire people to vote: “It’s a call to arms. When us Democrats actually get out there and vote, there's no gerrymandering, there's no voter suppression that can stop us. Historically, we oftentimes don't go out — and that's what the other side depends on. They try to do everything that they can to make people stay at home. Get off your ass and go vote. People have already died for us to have the right to vote. It's historical. It's documented. We're so cavalier about it: “Oh, I have to leave work. Oh, I have to stand in line.” Yeah, people were actually killed for standing in line and trying to vote. We don't remember that part.”
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