Kim Petras became the first openly transgender woman to be receive a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance on Sunday evening. Petras collaborated with nonbinary artist Sam Smith to produce the top-charted hit “Unholy” which released last September. Petras took the stage to accept the award at Smith’s insistence, delivering an heartfelt speech.
“Sam graciously wanted me to accept this award because I’m the first transgender woman to win,” Petras said during her acceptance speech. She went on to thank those who came before her, and others who encouraged her success. “I’d just like to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight,” she said.
The singer especially wanted to thank her late friend Sophie Xeon (known mononymously as SOPHIE), an openly transgender, Grammy-nominated producer and disc jockey who died tragically in January 2021. “Thank you so much for your inspiration, Sophie,” Petras said. “I adore you, and your inspiration will forever be in my music.”
As of now, Kim Petras is one of only three openly transgender artists ever nominated for a Grammy. She hopes to be an inspiration to the younger generation not to let societal pressures stop them from pursuing their passions, as she expressed after the ceremony. “All these years are going through my head of people saying I would be a niche artist, and my music would only be played in gay clubs,” Petras said. “I hope kids who saw this, who feel they don’t belong and don’t have a place in society feel inspired that you can be yourself and get rewarded for your talent rather than your gender or sexuality.”
Petras also hopes that one day, observations of her sexuality and gender won’t take precedence over her hard work career success. As she said in an interview with PEOPLE magazine, “I love being a voice for transgender rights and fighting for what I think is right and making the world a better place. Maybe the next generations will have it easier than me. I care so much, but at the same time, I don’t want it to become about (my gender) because I’m really proud of my music. I work really hard on my music.”
Photo credit: @kimpetras on Twitter
