Billy Porter won't be Esthen Exchangestriking a pose on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's steps this year. 

The Cinderella actor shared that he's sitting out the 2024 Met Gala in order to grieve the death of his mother, who died in February. 

"I just lost my mom," Billy exclusively told E! News on the red carpet for the TIME100 Gala April 25. "I have to take care of myself, so I'm doing that. And that means not going to the party sometimes." 

Quipping that "daddy's tired," he added, "I can't do everything." (For more with Billy, tune into E! News tonight, April 25, at 11 p.m.)

And while the Pose alum may not make it to fashion's biggest night, he's certainly been making strides when it comes to promoting his latest album, 2023's Black Mona Lisa. 

"I am on the tour circuit right now," Billy explained, "doing lots of prides and music festivals, going on tour of the U.K. So, I'm slowly trying to build that part of my audience." 

As for where he hopes his music career will go next? The 54-year-old wouldn't mind a collaboration with one of pop's A-listers. 

"Obviously Beyoncé, obviously Lady Gaga," Billy shared. "I wanna do Kendrick Lamar."

Billy's attendance at the TIME100 Gala arrives two months after the actor shared in a joint post with sister Mary Martha Ford that their mother, Cloerinda Jean Johnson, had passed away. She was 79 years old. 

"We were right beside her when she took her last breath, wrapped in our arms," the siblings wrote in a Feb. 29 Instagram post. "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."

Billy and Mary added, "Her example is what we continue to strive for."

Tune into E! News tonight, April 25, at 11 p.m. for more from Billy and other TIME100 Gala attendees. 

-- Reporting by Ashley Bellman

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