Trans singer Kim Petras receives a standing ovation at the Grammys

Transgender pop singer Kim Petras received a standing ovation at the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday night.

“Sat [Smith] graciously wanted me to accept this award because I am the first transgender woman to win this award,” the transgender singer said during an acceptance speech after Petras and Smith won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their song “Unholy”.

Watch below:

“Sat [Smith] graciously wanted me to accept this award, as I am the first transgender woman to win this award.” Watch Kim Petras’ acceptance speech from #Grammys: pic.twitter.com/jQ52Sq0t6f

— Variety (@Variety) February 6, 2023

“And I just want to thank all the amazing trans legends before me who opened those doors for me so I could be here tonight,” Petras added.

The singer then thanked a deceased friend named ‘Sophie’ – likely referring to transgender musician Sophie Xeon, who died in January 2021 aged 34, after falling from a balcony in Athens, Greece.

“Sophie, in particular, my friend who passed away two years ago, who told me this would happen and always believed in me,” Petras said. “Thank you so much for your inspiration, Sophie, I love you, and your inspiration will forever be in my music.”

Petras also thanked “Madonna, for her fight for LGBTQ rights,” adding, “I don’t think I could be here without Madonna.”

“My mom,” the singer continued. “I grew up near a highway in Nowhere, Germany, and my mom thought I was a girl. And I wouldn’t be here without her and her support.

Sam Smith, the other award-winning songwriter, identifies as ‘non-binary’ and only allows others to use ‘they/them’ pronouns to describe him.

Petras wasn’t the only transgender artist making waves at the 2023 Grammys.

Activist Dylan Mulvaney, a TikTok star famous for his day-to-day ‘daughter’ vlogs simply emulating paternalistic stereotypes about women, was also seen wearing a dress on the Grammy Awards red carpet, posing for photographers.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangeloand on Instagram.