Kim Petras becomes second-ever transgender cover star of Sports Illustrated
Singer Kim Petras has been branded 'iconic' after becoming the second-ever transgender woman to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.
Petras, who blessed the world with the hit song 'Unholy' alongside Sam Smith, revealed her front-page photo on Instagram this week after being chosen as one of four cover stars for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's annual issue.
The lineup also includes Megan Fox, Brooks Nader and Martha Stewart, and comes after actor Leyna Bloom became the first transgender woman to feature on the magazine's cover in July 2021.
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Petras told the magazine she was 'so excited' when she got the call to be on the cover, adding: "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.”
The singer is proud to be able to inspire a lot of transgender people with her work, and added that it's 'what you do' that's important, 'not what your gender is'.
"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 and all of that, so I hope that can be inspiring to people," she said.
MJ Day, the editor-in-chief of Sports Illustrated, honoured Petras for her cover as she commented: “The Grammy-winning pop star, a beacon of inspiration for the LGBTQ+ community, has blazed her own path to superstardom, but it has been anything but a straight line."
Petras' cover photo was shot by Yu Tsai in Los Angeles and shows her standing in a pool of water with her arms above her head while wearing a shiny gold bikini.
She shared the cover on Instagram with the caption, "Sports illustrated cover girl," and was quickly flooded with congratulations and praise from excited fans.
"So so proud of you Kim this is iconic, KEEP BUSTING DOWN THEM DOORS," one commented, while another wrote: "Congratulations! You look gorgeous!"
Petras told Sports Illustrated it's a 'scary time to be transgender in America', but noted there is 'much more representation than there’s ever been'.
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.”
Emily Brown