Trans pop star Kim Petras makes history with Sports Illustrated cover

2023-05-17 22:45

Kim Petras has made history by becoming the second transgender woman to model on the cover of Sports Illustrated. As part of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's annual issue, the popstar was picked as one of the four cover stars including Megan Fox, Brooks Nader and Martha Stewart. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In her cover photo which was shot by Yu Tsai in Los Angeles, Petras wore a gold bikini as she stood in a pool and had her armed posed above her head. The Grammy Award winner is the second transgender woman cover star, with actress Leyna Bloom being the first to grace the cover back in July 2021. "It’s very iconic, and a lot of very iconic people have done it before, so [it was a] big dream come true for me," Petras told the publication. Fans of Petras flocked to her post and congratulated her on this achievement. One person wrote: "So so proud of you Kim this is iconic @kimpetras KEEP BUSTING DOWN THEM DOORS" "Beautiful!!! Congrats!!!! I wish you the best and many more of these," another person said. Someone else added: "And the photo credits being colored as the trans flag? Iconic. @sportsillustrated really focusing all in those details. Congrats, mama!!!" The 30-year-old German singer also acknowledged what it means to be part of the transgender community amid a wave of anti-trans laws being introduced in states and the pressure she feels to represent it in an interview with the magazine. "It’s definitely a scary time to be transgender in America, but there’s also so much more representation than there’s ever been, and there’s so many things on the bright side," she added. “I do feel a pressure sometimes to represent the trans community with everything I do because I feel very blessed that I am at this point where I have all these amazing opportunities that I’ve worked really hard for and feel so happy when I hear from trans people in general that they’re inspired by me.” Though she also noted that everything she does is "definitely not about being transgender." “I always try to remember that everything I do is definitely not about being transgender. It’s a part of me, but there are so many other parts of me. And I think that’s really important for me to show that to people,” she said. “No matter what your gender or sexuality or any of that stuff is, it’s about what you make of life and it’s about what’s inside of you, so I hope that can be inspiring to people.” It's not the first time Petras has made history, as she became the first trans woman to win Grammy for Best Pop Duo for her collaboration with Sam Smith on the hit song 'Unholy.' Petras's new highly-anticipated major label debut album, Feed the Beast is out on June 23. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Kim Petras has made history by becoming the second transgender woman to model on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

As part of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's annual issue, the popstar was picked as one of the four cover stars including Megan Fox, Brooks Nader and Martha Stewart.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

In her cover photo which was shot by Yu Tsai in Los Angeles, Petras wore a gold bikini as she stood in a pool and had her armed posed above her head.

The Grammy Award winner is the second transgender woman cover star, with actress Leyna Bloom being the first to grace the cover back in July 2021.

"It’s very iconic, and a lot of very iconic people have done it before, so [it was a] big dream come true for me," Petras told the publication.

Fans of Petras flocked to her post and congratulated her on this achievement.

One person wrote: "So so proud of you Kim this is iconic @kimpetras KEEP BUSTING DOWN THEM DOORS"

"Beautiful!!! Congrats!!!! I wish you the best and many more of these," another person said.

Someone else added: "And the photo credits being colored as the trans flag? Iconic. @sportsillustrated really focusing all in those details. Congrats, mama!!!"

The 30-year-old German singer also acknowledged what it means to be part of the transgender community amid a wave of anti-trans laws being introduced in states and the pressure she feels to represent it in an interview with the magazine.

"It’s definitely a scary time to be transgender in America, but there’s also so much more representation than there’s ever been, and there’s so many things on the bright side," she added.

“I do feel a pressure sometimes to represent the trans community with everything I do because I feel very blessed that I am at this point where I have all these amazing opportunities that I’ve worked really hard for and feel so happy when I hear from trans people in general that they’re inspired by me.”

Though she also noted that everything she does is "definitely not about being transgender."

“I always try to remember that everything I do is definitely not about being transgender. It’s a part of me, but there are so many other parts of me. And I think that’s really important for me to show that to people,” she said.

“No matter what your gender or sexuality or any of that stuff is, it’s about what you make of life and it’s about what’s inside of you, so I hope that can be inspiring to people.”

It's not the first time Petras has made history, as she became the first trans woman to win Grammy for Best Pop Duo for her collaboration with Sam Smith on the hit song 'Unholy.'

Petras's new highly-anticipated major label debut album, Feed the Beast is out on June 23.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.