Megan Thee Stallion, Naomi Osaka & Leyna Bloom cover the most diverse Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s Issue yet

On Monday, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit revealed Megan Thee Stallion as one of three cover stars of its 2021 issue. The “Savage” hitmaker, 26, is the first rapper and only the second musical artist to ever front the iconic magazine, following Beyoncé in 2007.

Fittingly, Megan sizzles in a zippered nude bikini ($39.99) from her new Fashion Nova swimwear collection on the cover. “Thee first female rapper on the cover of @si_swimsuit 😭😭,” Megan wrote on Instagram. “I want to thank all the strong women in my life who inspired me to love my body and live my best hot girl life. It means the world to me to be on this cover DREAM COME TRUE!!”

“I was the little girl who was looking at Sports Illustrated like, ‘One day, this is gonna be me.’ And I manifested it. I wanted to do it and now I’m here,” Megan said in a behind-the-scenes video from her shoot.

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka is one of SI Swim’s other cover stars, as is the mag’s first transgender model of color, Leyna Bloom. Yumi Nu, the brand’s first Asian curve model, and COVID nurse Maggie Rawlins also appear inside the mag.

“We have three inherently different cover models that come together to tell a story rooted in female empowerment, setting a reminder that beauty comes in many forms,” SI Swim’s editor-in-chief, MJ Day, said in a statement, hailing Megan as “a magnetic powerhouse taking the world by storm,” adding, “Our cover stars alongside the other incredible women featured in the issue, represent some of the most powerful voices of today.”

The issue will be on newsstands July 22.

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