Serena Williams slammed a Parisian hotel for denying her and her family access to its rooftop restaurant.
“Yikes @peninsulaparis,” she wrote on X Monday. “I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places 🫠 but never with my kids. Always a first. 🙄#Olympic2024. You’re Really Gonna Reject Me?!?!”
The tennis champ, 42, also included a photo of The Peninsula’s sign with the message.
Getty Images for LVMH x Vogue x NBC
Fabrice RAMBERT
Many fans subsequently accused the hotel of racism.
“You should claim racism and get someone fired,” one person wrote, while another noted, “It doesn’t matter how much money you have. Racism doesn’t care bro 🤣.”
However, not everyone was Williams’ side, with some accusing her of acting like an entitled “celebrity.”
“BREAKING NEWS: Celebrity told ‘no,’” one user commented, while another wrote, “I’m a celebrity, kick a regular person out so I can eat.”
Hours later, the hotel responded with a comment, explaining that they were indeed fully booked despite appearances.
“Dear Mrs. Williams,” they wrote in response. “Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight. Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved.”
Williams has been in the City of Light for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, along with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and their daughters, Olympia, 6, and Adira, 1.
The former athlete participated in the opening ceremony’s torch relay.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who retired from professional tennis in 2022, made an appearance with other celebrated sports stars, including Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci.