Karol G wants to speak out more on politics – specifically ICE actions in the United States – but she’s regularly warned not to.
“People will say, ‘It’s better you don’t,’ the Colombian Grammy-winner says in an interview accompanying her new cover of Playboy. “Why? Because if you say the thing, maybe the next day you’ll get a call: “Hey, we are taking your visa away.” You become bait, because some people want to show their power.”
The music superstar, who will be the first Latina to headline Coachella at this year’s music festival, says she also wants to wait because she feels she can have a much bigger impact than simply saying “ICE Out.”
“I have a huge stage, and that’s why I want to wait, and if someone was ever to do something to me, I want to stand firmly on my stage for my community,” Karol G says. “So that’s why I may have to be more careful, and wait for my turn, and ensure that, through that opportunity, I can talk and represent something more.”
She asks, “What impact does it really have to say ‘ICE Out’ versus something else that can have a real impact on my community?”
In the wide-ranging interview with Emmy-winning writer Paola Ramos, she admits her “team would kill” her for saying “ICE Out.” “But I’m willing to say it,” she says. “If I’m being honest with you, it’s something that crosses the line of what I have to do to protect myself. But at the end of the day, what is my role if I’m in this position?”
Gray Sorrenti for Playboy
Karol G is the first Playboy cover from the magazine’s new chief brand officer and editor-in-chief Phillip Picardi, whose appointment was announced in March.
“Karol G is the perfect embodiment of our new era at Playboy — as an artist and performer, she deeply understands that sexuality can be a powerful storyteller,” Picardi tells Variety. “Her collaboration with [photographer] Gray Sorrenti felt personal and intimate; the photographs communicate a seduction that doesn’t need to shout in order to be heard. We’re thrilled she chose Playboy to help tell her story ahead of such a pivotal moment in her career, and we are grateful for her vulnerability and trust — both in the images and in her conversation with Paola Ramos for our cover story.”
Gray Sorrenti for Playboy
Karol G only asked fellow Colombian Sofia Vergara if she should pose for Playboy.
“‘Mijita, with that body? When you get to this age, you tell yourself, “Fuck, why didn’t I pose that one time? I should have posed more with a thong!”’ she says, recalling Vergara’s advice. “‘Just one thing: Don’t show your pussy.’”
Vergara also told her to have a reason for doing it.
“Why do I want to do this? Because I want to,” Karol G says. “Because I grew up inspired by how beautiful the women in the magazine looked, and now I have the opportunity to be that beautiful, sexy mamasota in the magazine. Why not?”
Playboy’s spring issue will hit newstands on April 14. Karol G’s full cover story is available to new and existing digital and/or digital-and-print subscribers only until the magazine arrives at newsstands nationwide.
