Over the weekend, the U.S. Open made major headlines, but all of the talk wasn’t necessarily about the tennis match.
For most people, the controversy centered on Serena Williams’ $17,000 fine. If you missed all that drama, the 23-time Grand Slam champion fell short of the glory during her match against Naomi Osaka, 20. But was Serena’s loss really a result of Osaka being the better opponent? With all of the opposition and penalties Serena faced, it seems as if other factors contributed to the loss. Now, outraged fans and frustrated celebrities are speaking out in support of Serena. One celebrity who has made his perspective clear is DL Hughley and, of course, he didn’t hold back with his opinion.
Double Standards:
On Sunday, Sept 9. TMZ caught up with DL Hughley at LAX and he was asked about the controversy surrounding Serena Williams and the U.S. Open. Apparently, D.L. feels the same way many of Serena’s fans feel – she was penalized unfairly. The famed comedian/actor pointed out the vast difference in the way women are treated as opposed to men.
Check out DL in action:
Although Serena was accused by the chair umpire Carlos Ramos for receiving illegal coaching from her player box in the first set, DL Hughley recalled a number of instances involving men. The incidents he cited were far worse than anything that happened during this year’s U.S. Open.
For those who don’t know, notable past outbursts from Andre Agassi and John McEnroe have surfaced again in wake of Serena’s controversy. Either player once called the umpire a jerk demanding, demanding he be replaced in the middle of the tournament. But despite their actions, they weren’t even penalized.
https://youtu.be/C8Nyc9jzSDg
DL also used Martha Stewart’s federal imprisonment as another example. Stewart, who was accused of illegally pocketing $40,000, was jailed for 5 months. DL believes a high-profile male in the same legal predicament would have had a better chance of receiving a more lenient sentence.
An Upsetting Loss:
The latest on DL Hughley follows a string of reports about the U.S. Open. During the tournament, Serena was penalized three times. The first time was due to the cheating allegation, the second time was after she broke her racket, and the third offense was considered verbal abuse when Serena sounded off on Ramos.
Out of frustration, she told the umpire, “You will never, ever, ever be on another court of mine as long as you live. You are the liar. When are you going to give me my apology? You owe me an apology. Say it. Say you’re sorry… And you stole a point from me. You’re a thief, too!”
Serena leaves the press conference with an ovation “Maybe it didn’t work out for me today, but it’ll work out for the next person.” 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/zA2tglq6vn
— Aɾɯα (@Arwa_Romanista) September 8, 2018
But despite the violations and the $17,000 in fines, Serena is adamant about standing her ground where women’s rights are concerned. During her recent press conference, she sounded off on the double standards and unfair treatment of women.
“I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality and for all kinds of stuff,” she said. “And for me to say ‘thief’ and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He’s never took a game from a man because they said ‘thief.’ For me, it blows my mind. But I’m going to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to have equal [rights].”
She went on to cite another outrageous offense Alize Cornet also received that a man likely wouldn’t. “Like Cornet should be able to take her shirt off without getting a fine. This is outrageous. I just feel like the fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person that has emotions and that want to express themselves and they want to be a strong woman and they’re going to be allowed to do that because of today.”
Serena concluded by saying, “Maybe it didn’t work out for me, but it’s going to work out for the next person.”
Then she exited the press conference to a standing ovation. Win, lose, or draw, Serena will always be Serena, and for fans, that’s more than enough.
