A Heated Debate on the 'Blackness' of Serena Williams Sparked After She Slammed Racist Comments About Her Baby
Update April 24
Serena Williams published a lengthy post on Instagram in response to Romanian tennis player Ilie Nastase and his comment calling her “chocolate with milk.” In her response, Williams called out Nastase for his "racist" remarks and his "sexism" demonstrated to her colleagues.
Although she spoke out against racism, Williams received some hate in return for being with a white man.
"Girl bye! Keep your legacy black! Keep your wealth black! Her legacy will now be whitewashed & her wealth will fade into the hands of the white man. #allblackeverything #blacklove > #interraciallove," wrote @noswirl1987.
Others said that now that she is with someone who is white, she cannot be pro-Black.
"Serena no longer black but wants us black folks supporting her 💀 go beg whites for support [expletive]," said @talkotp.
However, many people defended Williams and questioned why dating a white person makes her anti-Black.
@imanirenee22 wrote, "Some of these comments are just sad. Pro black doesn't mean you can't date outside of your race. It simply means you stand for and love your blackness. There are some white people who are pro black and respect our culture and everything we stand for."
Previous April 23:
Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase thought it would be funny to call Serena Williams’s future baby “chocolate with milk” at the Fed Cup draw in Constanta, Romania.
Nastase made the unfunny and derogatory comment in light of Serena being Black and her fiancé and soon-to-be baby daddy Alexis Ohanian’s Caucasian descent. Not only that, he’s doubling down on the “joke.”
Nastase said on Saturday (April 22), "This was a joke. If someone didn’t understand it, they lack humor. They have their own humor and we have our humor.”
Ummm, yeah, except it wasn’t funny in the least. He later told Romanian TV news channel Digi24 that his comment wasn’t racist and that he in fact has a good relationship with Williams. The comment comes after another controversial statement he made when he hurled verbal abuse at two British tennis players.
Johanna Konta was reduced to tears when Nastase screamed that she and Anne Keothavong were “f**king b*****s” during the second set of a match. He was subsequently ejected from the stands.