*Serena Williams’ body became the focus of a mid-game prank by tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki, who stuffed both her chest and shorts with padding and pranced out onto the court mid-game to imitate her friend Serena Williams. [Scroll down to watch.]
Williams was not in attendance at the exhibition match this past weekend in Sao Paolo.
Reactions to this joke have been mixed. Yahoo Sports called the impression, “hilarious” and noted, “The likeness to Serena, you’ll surely agree, is uncanny.”
On Tumblr, bloggers weren’t so happy about it. One blogger adding: “…this isn’t “harmless fun” as one article described it. its racist. out and outright racism. mocking and making fun of the bodies of black women for a laugh? real funny, stupid white girl. real real funny.”
Another blogger pointed out: “So a white woman can do something like this, but Serena Williams can’t crip walk to celebrate a victory? Wozniacki stuffed her bra and underwear so that she could appear like Serena. It may have been done in “jest,” but I love how people can can turn a black woman’s body and sexuality into a caricature. However, we should not have the autonomy to celebrate any successes of our own.”
Caroline went on to lose to her opponent, Maria Sharapova. Watch her prank below.
This is not a “joke”. Why do it to a “friend” when they are NOtT present!? This skinny bytch is just like all the other racist haters, who WISH the had what “We” have, & are frustrated as hell ABOUT it, & are attempting to “intimidate” Serena for “having these gifts”! The same fkn way they made fun of Our complexion, lips, hair ERRYthang back in the day & now?, are PAYING to GET they shyt!!! MuthaFK this trick & I hope Serena whoops her ass COMPTON style, next they meet…”court or NO court! Fkn joke….FOH! Ha ha HAYIL!, The shyt ain’t “funny”!
I read your comment, and your horrible grammar, the way you speak like a 10 year old, and I mock you, not because of your skin color, but because you’re an idiot.
Not a funny AT ALL!
stupid whie bit————–, you need help that is not cute or funny you can never be a pretty black women, get lost.
Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams are no real friends. Serena is naturally shaped a certain way whether you may, or may not find attractive. Caroline elected to immitate & make fun of Serena’s body to gain attention etc. Racist or funny, she was not focused on tennis and it showed. She brought her dumb, silly a.. there just to clown. Do you think that Serena would have approved of Caroline’s distasteful mockery? It’s unlikely that Caroline would like or appreciate it if someone mocked her oversized head and forehead that protrudes. That’s probably due from her sucking so much face.
It’s bad enough that Williams sisters get alot of negative comments from their playing styles but I’ve never seen a tennis player use beginning of a tennis match to ‘make fun’ of another player. Friend or no friend. This is totally racist and it seems to me that black women are once again the target of degradation and mockery. Totally open season on black women from all stand points. If she was so busy ‘funnin’ she would have won the match. Dumba$$ indeed.
Racist? This is a tennis tradition to mock the other players. This foolishness with the ‘racist’ card has to stop. Novak mocked Serna recently at a tennis fund raiser.
“a tradition to mock the other players.”
I’ve been following tennis for a while, but I don’t have any recollection of this tradition.
Mind to enlighten us Gayle?
A few examples, if you don’t mind.
I will wait until Serena says something about this before using the word racist. It’s possible they joke with each other like that.
Oh lawd. Here we go again. Black folk playing the race card whenever it smells right.
Her mocking Serena has nothing to do w/racism.
Here’s the problem though Herbs… There is a history of mocking the features of Black people in this country. There is no question that Serena Williams is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. BUT…there IS the question whether this behavior would have been conceived or perpetrated against a White champion of equal legacy.
The display may not been in and of itself been born of racism…i.e. perceived racial superiority or subjugation of another race, but it rings awfully familiar with certain historical cues relative to minstrel shows in which our features were always fodder for humor. This minor tennis player probably didn’t consciously make the correlation, but I think she’s aware of the fact she could probably get away with it with Serena as opposed to a non-Black champion of similar stature.
Right . . . . and the idiotic joke the radio hosts played on the nurse to Katie isn’t racist either. I mean, who knew her personal nurse was not English and abide by OTHER traditional customs. Point made . . . mockery, bullying, etc are idiotic, barbaric practices. What did Malcom X call you . . . blue-eyed what??? Shoe fits. Wear it. It’s not only wrong, but EVIL!
Sure, we do have the history to deal with. But this instance isn’t a good example of seeing a correlation.
SNL had a white guy “mock” a black guy (Obama) for years and every subsequent likeness adopted Obama’s big ears and dark smokers lips. Although few protested, most didn’t see racism in their decision to caste a nonblack man to play the first black president.
She might not have done the same w/a nonblack champion. There also isn’t a nonblack champion who looks like Serena.
Distasteful? Maybe. Racist? Nah
We I think agree. Distasteful, yes. Racist…probably not. But race matters in the sense of the “distasteful” acts seemingly reserved only for African-Americans of great stature.
Mocking Obama’s ears doesn’t have a direct connection to the stereotypes of Black people used in minstrel shows. Also, it was done by comedians, held to a different standard. When such behavior is exhibited by “peers” in the very arena of expertise…different altogether.
Imagine members of Congress mocking Obama’s features. That would be a more apt comparison.
@Reds. That’s so much for asking to be enlightened. Google Novak and Andy Roddick, both who are friends with Serena. Actually Novak also teased Serena on her butt and breast by stuffing towels in his shirt/short. It was laughs, trust me. The tennis industry is small and they are like one big happy family.
I’m not surprised that you wouldn’t see the difference. You have two men stuffing their chest to look like a woman and putting a towel in shorts. There imitation could be applied to almost any mildy voluptuous woman. As far as Novak and Roddick being Serena’s friends, well, with friends like those …. Serena may have played it off, but that doesn’t mean she was cool with it.
What this girl did, however, went way beyond the pale and was definitely meant in a derogatory manner.
Gayle is absolutely correct. Novak and Roddick have parodied Serena during at matches or exhibitions that Ms Williams was actually attending and participating in. BUT Morris is equally correct in that those who deem themselves somehow superior feel free to impersonate a legend, Hall of Famer like Serena. Notice that she didn’t do her act at the ESPYs or on BET where she knew she’d be outnumbered and the audience wouldn’t be feeling it. Ms Wozniacki is WAY too young and unaccomplished to pull off such an act. Her Scandinavian background and limited age doesn’t begin to allow her to comprehend the historical racial significance or the pain such acts cause Black women. It was stupid on her part. I hope she has apologized to Serena Williams.
HOLD UP! Wozniacki pulled this stunt in the heat of the second set in a match??? She pulled this stunt in Brazil, of all places??? Incredible balls on this girl. Wow. She should have been DQ’d. Sharapova should have appealed to the umpire instead of playing along. We all know if the real Serena played around like that and parodied Wozniacki in a match — anywhere in the world — she would have certainly been disqualified. Proof there are two sets of rules.
But see?…ALL this shyt is just an unchecked “mob mentality”, that’s been ALLOWED to fester one after the other! Not ONE fkn thang was done against the woman putting her finger in the POTUS face, the other bytch calling him the 1st “monkey” president!, mocking our 1st Lady as a “topless slave”!!!, killing Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Jordon Davis ….the list goes on & ON!! And note!!! Not ONE of those fkn “chosen four” Toms that went to take to POTUS “AFTER” the election!!! (how fkn stupid & telling is “that” shyt!!??) have said/done one fkn thaaaaaaang, regarding ANY of these cases!! They are “GATEKEEPERS”!!!!, not “leaders!!! And so..shyt like “this”?, is now being “excepted as norm”!!??? GTFOH!! Dem niggahs need to be called out & dismissed!!!! PERIOD!!!!!! Chuuuuuuuch/All Day!!
The problem with some Whites?, is when they DO have Black friends?, they only do so to “appear” diverse, cool, progressive & “not” racist, but then?….they treat those Black friends like fkn “MASCOTS” & do shyt like this! I say?, if you wouldn’t do this to a “random” Black person?, you shouldn’t do it to yo ….FRIEND!!! If so?, you are proving you are NOT a friend! And especially not IN PUBlIC!! WTF!?? You then insult that person’s whole culture!!! And WTF you g’on say?….”yo friend gave you “permission” to piss ‘on y’all”!!?? FK YT & their ….”friendships”!! Now….”good White people”?, are always cool wit meh, but they also should start checking these racist mofo’s when they’re alone WITH them, instead of “laughing along WITH them. Otherwise?….you ain’t so “good” eeeeeithah & are adding & abetting & therefore? are a racist/an agent FOR racism yourSELF!!!! Recognize!!
I could careless if they are friends or not.
Once you do something in public forum it’s open for public comment. I don’t play tennis and I don’t have to like it.
This is absolutely disgusting. I don’t know how people can get on here and call this woman a racist. All this shows is how uneducated today’s society really is. Instead of realizing the fact that it was a joke to a women she was up against you try and pull the race card to get some attention. This had nothing to do with race and everyone in the world knows it. you wannu call her racist, well you are the racist ones for making a link to her stuffing her but and chest to the other women being black. The sad truth is you are all being racist not only toward the white race but your own race. There are white women that look just the same, but there may be more black women that look this way. So what? There are probably more white women that have blond hair, even know it’s scientifically impossible for a black woman to be born with blond hair it will still be called racist. The ignorance of the American people is disgusting. The truth of the matter she made a joke toward an opponent. If this same situation was reversed which i guarantee has happen, nobody would be saying anything. This is just 1 of several million incidences across the globe where white people loses everything they worked for because black people have it stuck in there head that white people are evil and are out to get them. Wake up people you are not that important, god made everyone equal so stop putting yourselves in front of others. The definition of a racist person is somebody who hates others who are not of his or her own race. The definition is not somebody who does something bad to a black person. Grow up America and wake up.
Once again, you should not let your white friends get to comfortable with your friendship because they will show their true blue colors and think that your okay with it. Good example when Gweneth Paltrow use the “N” work while hanging out with Jay and Beyonce.
correction > > > “N” word
I don’t think she’s racist, but its quite obvious she doesn’t give a shit about her career if shes gonna lose focus like that in the middle of a match. Its a sport. The winners move on, and the losers go home.
soo many stupid comments. wtf.