Kim Petras has had one hell of a year, shooting to a whole new level of stardom by winning the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Unholy,” her Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping collaboration with Sam Smith. Now, she can add another accomplishment to the list: gracing one of the covers of this year’s iconic Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
Petras joins 2023 fellow cover models Martha Stewart, Megan Fox, and Brooks Nader, all of whom were announced on Monday. The German pop star is the second trans woman to cover the issue following Leyna Bloom, who covered the 2021 issue.
Petras serves a number of fits in her cover shoot, including a Barbiecore-inspired bright pink number from Heavy Manners and a lavish black long-sleeved suit from LILY & ROSE featuring a chest-cut out and emblazoned with gold beads.
“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,” editor-in-chief MJ Day said in the magazine’s announcement of this year’s swimsuit models.
Petras has been open about the queer and trans influences that have paved the way from her success, shouting out the late producer SOPHIE and other “transgender legends before me” during her Grammys acceptance speech and proclaiming that she owes everything to “the gays in Bushwick” during a recent Seth Meyers interview. However, in her SI cover story, Petras deflects from naming herself as a trailblazer within the LGBTQ+ community.
“I think what you do is the most important thing, not what your gender is,” she told the publication. “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.”
Petras isn’t resting on her swimsuit laurels, either. On Monday, she also announced the release date for her long-awaited debut studio LP Feed the Beast, which will be released on June 23. The star shared the news on social media with a moody photo of a sword propped up against a large stone, writing, “The story begins.”
I, for one, am glad that the album further affirms my personal belief that all gay people should receive swords.
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