Megan Thee Stallion, Leyna Bloom make history on cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue

Megan Thee Stallion and Leyna Bloom are making history — all while having a "Hot Girl Summer."

On Monday, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit unveiled this year's groundbreaking cover models, which included tennis superstar Naomi Osaka along with Megan Thee Stallion, the first rapper to land the cover, and Bloom, the first transgender woman to appear on the cover.

"I was the little girl looking at the cover of Sports Illustrated saying, 'One day this is going to be me.' And I manifested it," the 26-year-old rapper told Sports Illustrated in her cover interview. 

The "Savage" rapper also took to Instagram to share the "Good News" as well, captioning her post, "REAL SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT EDITION COVER MODEL (expletive)!!!!"

"Thee first female rapper on the cover of @si_swimsuit 😭😭 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!! 😛 #SISwim21." she wrote.

Bloom, who also broke new ground, wrote that this achievement made her "so happy, honored and humbled."

"I have dreamt a million beautiful dreams, but for girls like me, most dreams are just fanciful hopes in a world that often erases and omits our history and even existence. This moment is so powerful because it allows me to live forever even after my physical form is gone," Bloom wrote on Instagram.

While noting the importance of representation, Bloom dedicated this cover "to all the ballroom femme queens past, present and future."

"This historical moment is important to #girlslikeus because it allows us to live and be seen. Many girls like us don’t have the chance to live our dreams, or to live long at all. I hope my cover empowers those, who are struggling to be seen, feel valued."

Bloom has been breaking barriers in the fashion industry. She became one of the first openly transgender models during New York Fashion Week in September 2017 and was the first transgender woman of color to appear in Vogue India in October 2017.

In March, the "Pose" actress officially became the first transgender woman of color to grace the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue since the iconic magazine's inception nearly 60 years ago. 

She follows in the footsteps of Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio, who became the first openly transgender Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model in July 2020. 

Contributing: Cydney Henderson