Sports Illustrated faces backlash as its Swimsuit Edition cover features transgender star Kim Petras

Popular American sports magazine Sports Illustrated sparked controversy as it unveiled its Swimsuits Edition cover, featuring transgender pop star Kim Petras. Petras featured alongside other prominent figures such as Martha Stewart, Megan Fox, and Brooks Nader.

Reacting to the news, the German singer-songwriter expressed her excitement and said that to be featured in the iconic magazine is a dream come true.

She said, ‘I was so excited when I got the call to be in Sports Illustrated. It’s very iconic people have done it before, so, big dream come true to me. Now that we're doing it, I feel like we can.’
‘I hope people take away from that I look really hot and Sports Illustrated is cool….a pressure sometimes to represent the trans community with everything I do because I feel very blessed that I am at this point and feel so happy when I hear from trans kids and trans people in general that they’re inspired by me,’ she added.

The backlash comes after the recent controversies surrounding the use of transgender individuals in brand campaigns. Bud Light also faced criticism after appointing Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender actress, and TikTok personality, as one of its ambassadors.

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