29 May 2026
Kim Petras has “rarely” met men that have “openly wanted to date” her.
Kim Petras – February 2024 – Avalon – Eventim Apollo, London
The German singer-songwriter started identifying as a female aged two, began hormone therapy at 12 and was dubbed “the world’s youngest transsexual” when she had gender-affirming surgery in 2008.
She’s gone on to become a huge pop star, but admitted during an interview with Stereogum that lots of men over the years have wanted to hide relationships with her.
Kim said: “In my dating experiences, I’ve rarely met guys who openly wanted to date me. It was always kind of like DL, and I really wanted to address that.”
Referring to her song 101, she added: “I love that that song does it in such a sweet way, because it just reminds me of an older version, and this new version of myself.”
On her new album Detour, Kim also tackled the concept of dating athletes – “the closeted feeling that sports sometimes have and the tension in that” – particularly with the songs B**** Ball Out and Basketball.
She explained: “It fit narratively really well into this project, because it’s also kind of different guys, I’m dating different people, I’m becoming (different) when I’m dating them, when I’m seeing them — so having this undertone of dating an athlete, and it’s under wraps, and no one knows, and that tension was really interesting to me.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Kim reflected on why she’s “constantly changing” and the importance to her of coming up with different personas to play around with.
She said: “I’m a pretty shy person, and the music allows me to live out the parts of myself that I am maybe too afraid to live out in real life.
“I think that’s why I’m constantly changing. I like reinvention and the use of persona, and it’s what really fascinates me about pop stars — that element to me is amazing, because it shows that you can always change your life and your perspective and everything around, and it’s never too late or too early to do that.
“You’re allowed to change your mind and be a fluid person that goes in all kinds of directions and finds or looks at all the ugliest and most beautiful parts of themselves — so that to me is a super important part.”
