Williams insinuated that it triggered memories of slavery for her.

PublishedSeptember 26, 2025 12:48 PM EDT•UpdatedSeptember 26, 2025 12:48 PM EDT

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Let’s say you walk into a 5-star hotel, dressed in designer clothes on your way to a function where dozens of A-list celebrities will also be.

Are you going to be in a predominantly complaining mood, or are you going to be psyched to be a part of this awesome experience?

I have faith that pretty much all of our faithful readers would fall into the latter category. But tennis legend Serena Williams did not fit that description.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 04: Serena Williams, former professional tennis player and Managing Partner of Serena Ventures, speaks during the New York Times annual DealBook summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 04, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

On Thursday, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was exiting a 5-star hotel in New York City. Williams has been in “The City that Never Sleeps” to support Kim Kardashian at a lavish dinner marking the launch of Kardashian’s new women’s activewear line, NikeSKIMS. Teyana Taylor, Latto, Travis Scott, Gayle Mitchell, and Martha Stewart were just some of the celebrities in attendance.

Instead of being preoccupied with the excitement of the evening, Williams chose to complain about the decorations in the hallway.

I’m not kidding. That was what she focused on — and for a thoroughly ridiculous reason.

The decoration was a (fake) cotton plant. Immediately, Williams became uneasy because it was a traumatic reminder of the slavery she endured.

“Alright, everyone. How do we feel about cotton as decoration?” she asked fans on Instagram. “Personally, for me, it doesn’t feel great.”

I get it. There are so many parallels between the life of a successful athlete and a cotton slave in Southern America from the 1850s. 

The adulation and respect of millions of sports fans. The countless sponsorship deals that got her millions on top of her career earnings. The opportunity to go to high-class dinners with millionaire friends. It’s basically the same thing as being a slave!

Of course, Williams knows nothing of real suffering. Pretending she does is disingenuous to the people who actually experienced the real injustice of the slave trade. 

Furthermore, the issue was resolved in a bloody Civil War that started the process of Blacks being treated equally in this country, eventually culminating in some Blacks (like Williams) being in the upper classes of society.

Complaining about a fake cotton plant like it’s a vivid reminder of something you’ve experienced firsthand is as ridiculous as it is ironic considering the privileged circumstances she was in when she whined.