“I have nothing to say or be ashamed of. go away.”
Kim Petras’s Slut Pop era is over. At least, it is for now. That was the title of the 30-year-old German-born, LA-based musician’s last EP, released in February. The first lines of the opening track – cheekily imploring listeners to disrobe – set the tone. From there, other offerings on the record continued in the same catchily explicit, sex-positive vein.
“It was a very freeing record to make and perform,” Petras says. “I wrote it at the time when OnlyFans was looking to ban sex workers from their platform. It’s fucked up how badly sex workers are treated; how they’re disrespected. I wanted to make music that championed them and took the shame away.”It seemed an obvious theme for a set of songs, Petras reckons. Growing up, a friend’s mum worked in the sex industry (“She was lovely but everyone was so mean to her”); through adulthood, Petras noticed a similar situation among her peers as well. “Being trans,” she says, “I’m so lucky my family supported me. Had they not, sex work might have been the option open to me as a way to pay for my transition. You need cash urgently, and sex work is one way to get it. That’s what lots of my friends have done.” The EP, she says, speaks to a simple message: “Sex is fun, and it should be for everyone … And so what if I’m a slut?”
Given her past work, I had expected Petras to inhabit a certain type of pop persona in real life: confrontationally confident; explicit and uncensored, too. But when we meet in the restaurant of a swanky London hotel, she is reserved, dressed head-to-toe in baggy black clothing, nervously smiling, all thoughtful. It’s clear that while her last EP offered Petras unprecedented exposure, it also presented a carefully curated character; one she meticulously designed.
The “Unholy” singer, 30, was seen walking the red carpet in a long denim strapless dress with a mermaid silhouette by Blumarine. The gown was embellished with copper studs and belted at the waist.
She accessorized with a coordinating denim purse by the same label, as well as a massive cross necklace.
Petras’ look mirrored the denim gown that Spears, now 40, wore while attending the 2001 American Music Awards.
The “Toxic” singer turned heads in a strapless patchwork denim number that hugged her curves and was also accessorized with a chain belt and a denim purse. The pop star finished her look with a dazzling choker necklace.
Spears famously matched her all-denim look with Justin Timberlake, who wore an indigo blazer, jeans and a cowboy hat while attending the event with his then-girlfriend.
It’s no surprise that Petras would take inspiration from the “Crossroads” actress. The rising star has previously discussed how Spears has been an influence in her music career.
In 2020, Petras revealed that her “Icy” music video was inspired by Spears’ “Stronger” visuals, saying, “It’s one of my favorite videos ever.”
And last year, the German-born singer told “Access” that she learned English by watching Spears’ interviews “over and over and over with subtitles” because she “wanted to know what she was saying.”
She added, “I’m really obsessed with her.”
Petras isn’t the only singer to draw fashion inspiration from Spears’ denim ensemble. Camila Cabello wore a Canadian tuxedo during an appearance on the “Today” show in April, and at the 2014 VMAs, Katy Perry and rapper Riff Raff pulled off a spot-on tribute to Spears’ and Timberlake’s matching moment.
It all started over the weekend when the "Coconuts" hitmaker tweeted "get talented or good at anything then talk to me," which appeared to be a shade to her haters.
One user immediately called her out, replying that she should stop defending Dr. Luke first as he has a lot of controversies in the music industry.
Petras then doubled down her previous statements about the controversial record producer, writing, "500000 ppl work with him why y'all only coming at me. I have nothing to say or be ashamed of at all. go away."
The pop star has since deleted her response, but many online users were able to screenshot the tweet and re-post it on the social media platform.
In early reports, Kim Petras made a name for herself for releasing hit pop songs independently. In 2016, she moved to Los Angeles, California, to work on her music career full-time and she was signed under Prescription Songs, an imprint of Lukasz Gottwald, popularly known as Dr. Luke.
However, in her recent project, it appears that Petras has severed her ties with the embattled record producer as he wasn't credited in the track.
In an interview with i-D Magazine, the "Can't Do Better" songstress praised Republic Records co-president Wendy Goldstein for the latest era of her new music as she was the person who helped her write better songs.
As of this writing, Kim Petras has not confirmed whether she would stop working with Dr. Luke for good or if she would still collaborate with him on future projects.
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