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# The SI Swimsuit Cover Parties Were as Skin-Forward As You Might Imagine
- URL: https://go-fug-yourself.ghost.io/the-si-swimsuit-cover-parties-were-as-skin-forward-as-you-might-imagine-07-2021/
- Published: 2021-07-26T16:00:59.000Z
- Updated: 2021-07-26T03:39:18.000Z
- Description: Starring Megan Thee Stallion.
- Author: Heather
- Tags: fugs, Sports Illustrated, #wp, #wp-post, #hasslideshow, #Import 2026-10-07 08:18, Leyna Bloom

[View the gallery](https://go-fug-yourself.ghost.io/si-swimsuit-cover-parties/)

Sports Illustrated had three covers this year: Megan Thee Stallion, Naomi Osaka -- who, understandably, is not at this party due to her lighting the Olympic torch in Japan and then having to play tennis over there -- and [Leyna Bloom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyna%5FBloom?ref=go-fug-yourself.ghost.io), a model and actress and celeb in the ball-culture world who became "the first openly transgender woman of color to appear in *Vogue* India. In May 2019, her feature film debut in *Port Authority* at the Cannes Film Festival was the first time a trans woman of color was in a leading role of a movie feature at a major film festival." And now she's SI Swimsuit's first trans cover star. It's awesome. I know people have a variety of feelings about the SI Swimsuit issue, but if they're going to do it, I like them using that platform for better things.

Here are those covers, in the order I mentioned them; each one opens with a video version, and swipe/click to the second slide to see the actual cover.

[Megan's cover](https://www.instagram.com/p/CRgk8hJLeW5/?ref=go-fug-yourself.ghost.io) is good -- it's sexy and it's confident, and if there's ever a place and time for the open-mouth cover pose, it's SI.

[Naomi Osaka's is not as strong, I don't think](https://www.instagram.com/p/CRgk5SOniep/?ref=go-fug-yourself.ghost.io):

It just looks to me as if she's thinking, "Oooookay, this is weird, but let's try it." A lot of bad-faith actors have been eye-rolling Naomi's recent magazine covers in light of [her declining to do French Open press, then pulling out of that](https://go-fug-yourself.ghost.io/serena-in-green-naomi-in-grey-and-the-news-and-more-from-the-french-open-06-2021/) and Wimbledon altogether, but to me that misses the salient point that doing a cover shoot and/or an interview when you are on your own time -- and on a relaxed schedule -- is VERY different than trying to deal with the media day-in and day-out when you're trying to stay in your competitive headspace. It's not about controlling the questions, I don't think; it's about wanting more time to decompress from your matches, prep from the next ones, BREATHE for a second, handle your own stress and nerves, let your body recover... I can totally see where those kinds of routine press obligations, while you're also under the bright lights of the court and trying to pull off a win, would work a person's anxiety in the way that this kind of stuff doesn't. (And for what it's worth, Naomi shot this one in December, 5-6 months before the French Open.)

Finally, [here is Leyna Bloom's](https://www.instagram.com/p/CRgk3DoLD9U/?ref=go-fug-yourself.ghost.io):

The up-the-nose/straddle combo is not my favorite positioning, but she does still look beautiful. She reminds me in this photo of Simone Missick, from the late and troubled *All Rise*, whom I LOVE and who I hope is developing one of Jasmine Guillory's books into a movie (I vote for *Party of Two*, I think). Hell, Leyna should develop one of them, too. DEVELOP THEM ALL.

###### \[Photos: Shutterstock\]