Megan Thee Stallion and Leyna Bloom celebrated their historic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers at the magazine’s reveal party in Florida on Friday night. The “Thot Sh*t” singer is the first rapper to ever cover the special-edition magazine, while Leyna made history with her SI debut as the first Black, Asian trans model to grace the cover.
Naomi Osaka was also one of the three cover stars, however, she was not in attendance as she’s currently in Japan for the Olympic Games.
Megan considers the shoot “one of the best experiences in my life” due to the magazine’s dedication to diversity. “I think they are on the forefront when it comes to diversity and inclusion because they do not fear change, they lean into it,” Megan told People. “They see the world and have it reflect on the cover and pages inside.
That is why they have been so successful. ” Meanwhile, Leyna still can’t get over the major milestone. “There are no words to captivate how I feel or how anyone would feel – especially someone like me, because this has literally never happened to anyone like me on the face of the earth,” Leyna told SI. “I want to bask in this moment and enjoy July 19, 2021, because today will be a historical day in history. ” See how Megan and Leyna celebrated their iconic covers at the SI bash ahead.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Wants People to Show “Basic Respect” and Pronounce Her Name Right
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is proud of her name, and wants people to treat it with respect. The Never Have I Ever actress, whose Netflix show recently released its second season, gets faced with frequent mispronunciation – and even had clueless critics ask if she’d change her name when she entered the industry. But instead of further bending herself to the convenience of others, Maitreyi recently opened up about the importance of saying someone’s name right in a Twitter voice note.
“Names are so important, and I find that it’s a big part of your identity – it personally is for me. I love my name so, so much. And constantly, I get people saying, ‘Oh, you don’t even know how to say your own name right. ’ It’s like, ‘No, no, no, I do. I do know how to say my own name right,’” she explained. “Because the reality is, no one knows how to say someone else’s name except for the person themselves, you know? Like, this is my name. I’m sorry, but I get to call the shots here. There is one answer and that answer is my own. There’s no discussion for that. ”
had to take this voice memo 18490174 times because there’s a lot to say💗✨
– Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (@ramakrishnannn) July 22, 2021
After breaking down the proper way to say her name, Maitreyi doesn’t permit incorrect variations. She said, “Now ‘my tree”‘ is fun and all but lets make sure we remember that names have power. Pronounce people’s names the way they want it to be pronounced and put in the effort,” and later added she’s just “asking for basic respect. ” Maitreyi put “active effort” into emphasizing the power of pronunciation. “My name really isn’t hard once you try a few times. everyone’s names deserve respect. ”
