Kim Petras took a moment to honour the transgender trailblazers that came before her as she celebrated her first ever Grammy win on Sunday night.
During this year’s Grammys ceremony, Kim and Sam Smith triumphed in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their collaboration Unholy, which topped the charts upon its release last year.
Taking to the stage to collect the prize, the German singer and songwriter revealed to the audience that Sam “graciously wanted me to accept this award because I’m the first transgender woman to win this award”.
“I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me, who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight,” Kim said.
She then gave a specific shout-out to the late music producer Sophie, who died in 2021 after an accident.
Kim said of her friend and fellow musician: “She told me this would happen, and always believed in me. Thank you so much for your inspiration, Sophie. I adore you. And your inspiration will forever be in my music.”
Kim went on to give a special mention to Madonna, for her “fight for LGBTQ rights”, and claimed she wouldn’t “be here” without the Queen of Pop or her own mother.
Later in the evening, the Like A Prayer singer returned the favour, by introducing Sam and Kim before their fiery (literally!) performance of Unholy during the show, which featured cameo appearances from RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Gottmik and Violet Chachki.
Check out all the winners from the 2023 Grammys here.