Serena Williams has the internet talking after sharing a decorative piece in a hotel. The tennis icon recently traveled to New York to celebrate the launch of Kim Kardashian‘s new Nike x Skims collection. While walking through a hotel, she noticed that the establishment had chosen to have a cotton arrangement in a vase as a statement piece, rather than flowers, which caught her off guard.
How did Serena Williams react to seeing cotton plant decor at a hotel?
Williams was surprised that a hotel would choose cotton as decor, given its history within the plantation and slave system, especially during the 18th century. Taken aback, she posted a video on her Instagram stories to pose a question to her followers, but sharing it made her feel uneasy.
“Alright everyone, how do we feel about cotton as decoration?” Williams asked in the clip. “Personally, for me, it doesn’t make me feel great.”
Williams then uploaded a follow-up video of her wearing a great paint suit accessorized by a Black belt and gloves. She took one of her gloves so she could remove one of the cotton-like pieces to feel its texture.
“So actually, it feels like nail polish remover cotton,” she said.
The internet is responding to Serena Williams’ calling out a hotel’s cotton plant decor
The Shade Room, a celebrity gossip blog, reposted the two videos on its Instagram profile and got mixed reviews in the comment section of the highlight.
“If this is a hotel and they knew you were coming, this was a message sent. And you received it…,” one person commented.
“As a person who has decorated homes, lives in the south, and is black I hate it,” someone else agreed. “Why do we have to decorate with THAT plant with the cultural baggage it has. For me it is the same energy as a confederate flag.”
While some condemned the decision to use it as decoration, others noted that cotton is a beautiful plant.
“It’s actually a beautiful plant, it’s gives minimalist vibes but it’s so attached to traumas embedded deep in our souls, so we don’t see the beauty in it,” another person wrote.
“A reach! At the end of the day it IS a real plant and the esthetic it adds is nice,” a second person added. “We know the history but we also know we ain’t NEVA going back soooo don’t give it so much power . Geesh.”
“I have one as decoration in my house and I know people feel a way but I’m proud,” a third person chimed in. “Cuz it just reminds me of how far we have come as a people . Where we came from and where we going. A lot of people have things in their homes from their ancestors history.”
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