Serena Williams’ fans have not taken kindly to Meghan Markle’s latest comments on the American tennis legend, throwing accusations of jealousy and more towards the former Royal Family member. The controversy comes after Markle’s appearance on an interview recently, where the tone of her remarks on Williams sounded off to those watching the clip on the internet.
Markle and Williams have been friendly towards each other over the years, with the duo showing their support publicly for each other time and again. The 23-time Grand Slam champ and her husband Alexis Ohanian were also invited to Markle’s wedding with Prince Harry, one that made her the Duchess of Sussex.
Speaking on the ‘Aspire With Emma Grede’ podcast’s latest episode, Megha Markle and the host discussed Serena Williams, widely considered one of the greatest female athletes the sports world has ever seen. A former World No. 1, Williams has won more Grand Slams than any woman in tennis in the Open Era, with 23 to her name.
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The host also referred to Williams' post-retirement career, where she has switched to being an entrepreneur. In addition to co-owning several sports franchises, the American also has her own beauty product line, a venture capital firm and more.
Meghan Markle agreed with the sentiment, saying:
"She's doing so well."
However, fans were of the opinion that the way she said the comment did not sound complimentary, but rather appeared to be a slight at the host for switching the conversation over to Williams.
"Serena is a fool being friends with this woman .. as with the royal family she’s using her for relevance," one fan said.
"So much anger in her micro expressions," another felt.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
"Not a fan of Serena but, how can she say and I quote "She is doing so well". Lady, she's been a tennis grand slam champion several times. What have YOU done?" one fan wrote.
"That was so patronising," another commented.
"Serena is a winner and champion. An inspiration. Meghan can only wish to be even mentioned in the same sentence as Serena, despite desperately name dropping and being seen with her," one fan replied.
"She is really pressed and jealous. No wonder she couldn't hack it as a royal family member with a Queen on the throne. Every moment must have been agony for her," another noted.
Serena Williams retired in 2022, playing one last time at the US Open and reaching the third round before bowing out in front of her home fans.
"We became such fast friends" - Meghan Markle on her friendship with Serena Williams
Speaking on the podcast 'Archetypes' hosted by herself, Meghan Markle opened up about her friendship with Serena Williams back in 2022. Recalling their first meeting, Markle revealed how the duo becamse "fast" friends after a quick introduction at a chance encounter.
"I show up and I see you walking toward someone. I remember thinking, 'Oh my gosh, who is Serena Williams going to talk to?' I looked behind me and when I turned around, you were there right in front of me... We became such fast friends," Markle said.
At the 2024 ESPY awards, Serena Williams also had the honor of introducing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, an occasion she used to gently tease them in good faith.
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