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Riley Knoxx Makes History as NBA's First Trans Halftime Show Performer

Riley Knoxx Makes History as NBA's First Trans Halftime Show Performer

Riley Knoxx Makes History as NBA's First Trans Halftime Show Performer

The world's #1 Beyoncé impersonator will be performing at tonight's Washington Wizards Pride Night game.

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She may be best known for serving one hell of a Beyoncé impression, but singer and performer Riley Knoxx is making history on her own, becoming the first openly transgender woman to perform during an NBA halftime show.

The 38-year-old, who already has a bunch of other notable credits to her name including an appearance in Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" music video and performing with other popular artists like Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson, will be taking the spotlight on the court during halftime at tonight's Washington Wizards' Pride Night game against the Atlanta Hawks.

"They reached out to me, believe it or not," Knoxx said in a recent interview with Good Morning America about how her history-making performance came to be. "They have been watching for a while and they've been wanting me to perform at their events, but they were just waiting for the right time and space. And it just worked out that because they were watching, that's how I got this chance."

But this opportunity wasn't luck. Knoxx, who has been performing for 17 years, GMA reports, put in a lot of hard work to get to where she is today.

"People often ask me, 'Well how did you get this or how did you get that?' and I say, 'Years and years of preparation, years and years of putting in the hard work,'" she said. "I've worked and worked and worked until I was blue in the face and I still do. I still have the drive and the love for this after all these years."

She continued: 

"People always ask me, 'How does it feel to be living your dreams? Or did you dream of this?' And I'm always like, 'No!' I couldn't have dreamed of this. I'm living beyond anything I could have dreamed of. So I tell people to never put a cap on their dreams—dream without limitations."

Riley will be performing during the halftime show of tonight's Washington Wizards/Atlanta Hawks game. She will be joined by Wizards dancers and will perform a three-song Beyoncé medley! 

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Raffy Ermac

Digital Director, Out.com

Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel

Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel