Kim Petras ‘extremely alarmed’ by growing anti-trans rhetoric: ‘It’s scary for all of us’
Kim Petras has said she is “alarmed” by the treatment of trans people. (Getty)
Kim Petras has said that she’s “extremely alarmed” by society’s treatment of trans people, amid an alarming political climate for queer people.
When it comes to trans visibility, Kim Petras is leading the charge. Aside from snatching a Grammy with Sam Smith for their hit collaboration “Unholy”, the 30-year old-German singer has recently covered Sports Illustrated as a swimsuit model, released a Nicki Minaj collaboration and even announced a world tour in support of her most recent debut album, Feed the Beast.
She’s also spoken extensively about the struggles of being an out trans artist, recently revealing that she was once told there “wasn’t a place” for her in the music industry.
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In that very same vein, Petras has now directly addressed the rising tide of intolerance currently sweeping both sides of the pond, from US drag bans and anti-trans bills to UK politicians across the political spectrum dragging conversations around trans lives into the gutter.
“I’m extremely alarmed by it,” the star told Entertainment Weekly. “Trans people have always been used to outrage people, but you have to remember that we’re only one percent of the population.”
Continuing, Petras harkened back to her childhood, noting that though “everyone would call [her] crazy,” as a young trans person, being trans “wasn’t so publicly demonised.”
She added: “It’s scary for all of us who just want to live a normal life.”
Elsewhere, Kim Petras revealed the extent to which transphobic hate received early in her career affected her.
“‘Biological man! Biological man!’ I got that from literally everywhere,” Petras said. “I had been afraid of that so much because it stings and hurts to be analysed like that.”
Like a true diva, though, Petras is turning that pain into passion, and using it to propel her towards her eventual goal of being a “main player” in the global landscape of pop music.
“Now, having lived through being called a man all the time, I can make fun of it and not freakin’ go into a deep depression because of it,” she shared. “I feel like I’m finally ready to play in the main arena.”
And playing in the main arena she is, after a breakthrough year that’s seen her headline Sydney WorldPride‘s closing concert, appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated and make history with Smith as the first trans and non-binary musicians to top the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The pair’s duet was so controversial, in fact, that Madonna – yes, Madonna – defended the song with an epic Grammys speech about controversy while introducing the pair to the stage to perform at the same ceremony.
Kim Petras’ Feed the Beast world tour kicks off 27 September in Austin, Texas. Fans can get their hands on tickets via ticketmaster.co.uk and ticketmaster.com.
