Luke Gilford
Disruptors
Kim Petras
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
How do you top winning your first Grammy and then having Madonna introduce your performance on the Grammy stage with Sam Smith? For Kim Petras, you release your major label debut album, collaborate with one of the biggest artists in the world, and embark on a global tour.
Petras triumphed in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammys alongside Smith for “Unholy,” and they made history by becoming the first transgender and nonbinary winners in this category. She says this was her proudest accomplishment of 2023. Petras then released Feed the Beast in June, giving the LGBTQ+ community a perfect soundtrack for Pride. The album included collaborations with Smith, Banks, and one of Kim’s idols, Nicki Minaj. Oh, and she also was the cover star of Out’s Pride issue as well as Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. Not a bad year!
“I always think of myself as an artist first and have always wanted to be known for my craft,” Petras says. “I love being transgender, but I think we’re all so much more than just one thing. To me, what you do and what you love says so much more about you as a person than your gender, race, or sexuality, so it felt amazing to be recognized as a musician and for something I have devoted years and years to.”
Now that she’s a global pop princess, Petras has the whole world at her fingertips. If her 2023 was this good, we can’t wait to see what’s in store next year. @kimpetras
Disruptors
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Photo by Luke Fontana
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland — the national executive director and chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA — oversees the world’s largest entertainment union, which boasts over 160,000 members. And along with SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, he’s one of the faces of their strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
As one of the few out leaders of a major entertainment group, Crabtree-Ireland knows that the fight for labor and LGBTQ+ equality go hand in hand. “One of the things that we’re fighting for is basic equity, inclusion, and fairness in the industry,” he says. “And I’m proud to say that SAG-AFTRA has been at the forefront of making sure that the entire American scene is represented on film, television, and streaming — and that’s a fight that we’re in for the long run.”
And there is a lesson to be learned from the strike to advance change, which is the power of solidarity. “When we stand together and when we fight together, that’s how we win,” he says. “Division always weakens us. Unity strengthens us.”
The outcome of Crabtree-Ireland’s advocacy through the SAG-AFTRA strike will determine the future of how actors and other entertainment professionals are treated in show business, as technological advances like streaming services and AI impact their careers and livelihoods. But the country’s largest strike in 26 years has also helped fuel a revolution for workers in hospitality, the automotive industry, and beyond.
This revolution shows the power of a compelling narrative. In fact, one of his biggest challenges during the strike was the task of clearly communicating SAG-AFTRA’s message “with the rest of the community, the industry, and the world so that everyone understood why we’re in the fight that we’re in, and how it was going to change everything for the better.” Clearly, the message has gotten through.
This year, Crabtree-Ireland is proud “to fight against the biggest companies in the world and say we demand to be treated with respect and fairness.” @duncanci