Fans React to Brianna LaPaglia’s Digital SI Swimsuit Cover: ‘She Is the Moment’

The content creator posed for the magazine in La Quinta, Calif.

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

In case you missed this morning’s announcement, digital content creator and Barstool Sports personality Brianna LaPaglia is SI Swimsuit’s January 2025 digital cover model. The 25-year-old Boston native traveled to La Quinta, Calif., for her photo shoot, where she posed in front of photographer Katherine Goguen’s lens at The Austin Estate.

SI Swimsuit’s official Instagram account announced the news this morning, and the comments have been rolling in ever since. In the reel, LaPaglia strutted toward the camera in a trio of swimsuits, including a bold black suit by Christopher Esber, a golden cut-out one-piece by Isa Boulder, and a brown Tropic of C bikini paired with a beaded top by Andres Otalora. The footage then cut to behind the scenes snippets of the BFFs podcast host on set in California expressing how excited she was for the opportunity.

“SI Swimsuit is thrilled to announce content creator and podcast host @briannalapaglia as our January 2025 Digital Cover Model!” the IG caption read. “Through her fearless candor and unabashed authenticity, Brianna is redefining her self-worth on her own terms. Reflecting on her SI Swimsuit experience, Brianna expresses ‘this, to me, isn’t just like ‘check it off the bucket list’…this is reclaiming myself…that’s what this all means to me.’”

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Goguen at The Austin Estate. / Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

Fans quickly chimed into the comments section to praise LaPaglia on her major achievement as cover girl.

“SHE IS THE MOMENT!! This is everything 😍😍,” one person gushed.

“THE ONLY CHOICE 🔥🔥🔥,” someone else added. “@briannalapaglia looking iconic and showing women it’s never too late to choose themselves 🫶.”

“‘I’m allowed to do what I want to do. I’m allowed to do it in any fashion,’” another user added, quoting LaPaglia. “ 🙌👏🔥 YESSSSS!!! You do YOU! Genuinely, authenticity 💯 YOU Looking absolute 🔥🔥🔥!!”

“Everything she said resonates so much!” one fan noted. “The epitome of @si_swimsuit and what it means to be an empowered woman! 🔥❤️.”

“🙌🙌🙌🔥🔥 Finally she gets the win she deserves !!!!” an additional user cheered.

“Why am I crying 😭😭😭 mother is THRIVING,” someone else wrote.

LaPaglia, who is known for her unfiltered social media content, is looking forward to a clean slate in 2025, and she’s kicking off the year as an SI Swimsuit digital cover model.

“It’s a lot more than me looking quote-unquote hot in a swimsuit—it’s me reclaiming who I am as a woman, reclaiming my body and my decisions and my choices,” LaPaglia says. “This cover is me being me again and taking control of my life. This is my body; my body isn’t that experience, and even though I’m not 100% in it right now, this is me. This doesn’t have anything to do with anybody else.”

Brianna LaPaglia. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1736891678/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jhkcz6qagw1dethpwj.jpg. Brianna LaPaglia Gallery. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1736890702/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jhkc1n3zs5pfa9wva7.jpg. Brianna LaPaglia Model Page. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1736891128/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jhkcegkwhyjfxwp4an.jpg. Brianna LaPaglia Cover Story