Transgender pop star Kim Petras on cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions

Pop musician Kim Petras is one of the four cover models for Sports Illustrated (SI) swimsuit editions, becoming the second openly transgender model to appear on the cover. 

In an interview with Sports Illustrated published Monday, Petras explains that she felt pressure to represent the trans community due to the climate the U.S. is currently in when it comes to the issue. 

“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,” Petras told the magazine. “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.” 

The “Alone” singer also shared that she was excited to get the call from SI to appear in the magazine’s swimsuit edition, calling it a “big dream come true.” 

“I think what you do is the most important thing, not what your gender is, and all of that,” Petras told the magazine, adding that she tries to remember that everything she does is not based on her sexual gender. 

“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,” Petras added. 

This is the second time an openly transgender model has appeared on the cover of SI’s annual swimsuit edition, following model and actress Leyna Bloom who appeared in the magazine 2021 swimsuit edition, according to the Advocate. 

It has been a big year for Petras. The 30-year-old singer recently became the first openly transgender woman to win a Grammy Award earlier this year in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category for her and fellow singer Sam Smith’s performance in “Unholy.”