Kim Petras has disclosed the words of encouragement that Madonna spoke to her prior to her historic Grammys performance in February.
According to ‘People magazine, Madonna introduced Petras and Sam Smith, who performed their deliciously deviant hit ‘Unholy’ at the award ceremony.
“I was so nervous. I was freaking out,” says Petras, 30, whose debut album on a major label, Feed the Beast, will be released on Friday.
“After her speech, she turned around and whispered to me, ‘Go get it, bitch.’ That made me feel like, “I got this.”
Madonna wrote on Instagram after the performance, as reported by ‘People.’ “It was an honor for me to introduce Kim Petras and Sam Smith at the Grammys. I wanted to give the last award, which was an album of the year, but I thought it was more important that I present the first trans-woman performing at the ‘Grammys’ – a History-making moment!! And on top of that, she won a Grammy!!”
Petras and Smith were the first overtly trans and non-binary artists, respectively, to win the award for best pop duo/group performance for ‘Unholy.’
Petras, who will embark on her Feed the Beast World Tour later this year, has been inspired by Madonna for many years.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) described Petras and Smith’s fiery rendition of “Unholy” as “demonic.” As the first trans and non-binary artists to earn a Grammy for best pop duo/group performance, the pair made history.
“All these years are going through my head of people saying I’d be a niche artist because I’m transgender,” Petras said backstage, “and my music would only ever play in gay clubs — and what’s wrong with that, because I love gay clubs — but now I got a Grammy.”
The 30-year-old German, whose Feed the Beast World Tour begins in August, told People that she has always felt “a special connection with Madonna” — even as a child before undergoing gender-affirming surgery at age 16.
Madonna has never veered away from supporting individuals with marginalized sexual or gender orientations. She infamously stated, “Everyone has a bisexual nature” in 1991, kissed Britney Spears at the 2003 Video Music Awards, and declared she was a lesbian in 2022.
Thus, the “Like a Virgin” vocalist was resolved to support Petras at the Grammys.
“It was an honor for me to introduce Kim Petras and Sam Smith at the Grammys,” she wrote at the time. “I wanted to give the last award, which was the album of the year, but I thought it was more important that I present the first trans-woman performing at the Grammys.”
“Feed the Beast,” Petras’ major-label debut, will be released on Friday.