Retired tennis star Serena Williams found apparently racist cotton decor at a New York City hotel this past week, and complained about it on Instagram.
Williams, who’s in NYC for a Kim Kardashian event, shared video of her examining a vase filled with faux cotton stems and asking her followers how they “feel” about it. She said, “it doesn’t feel great,” and visibly shivered over the sight of it.
Williams shared the video via Instagram Stories, where the athlete has 18 million followers.
Serena Williams gets triggered by a cotton plant at her luxury hotel
These people are so fu#%ing insufferable and performative
Acting triggered with a $250m net worth and a long blonde wig is wild
You crip-walked at the Super Bowl and your sister was killed by crips
Sit down pic.twitter.com/Ej1yDaDl6u
— Amiri King (@AmiriKing) September 26, 2025
Journalist Megyn Kelly reacted to the video, noting Williams’ tremendous success in America.
“Serena Williams is triggered by cotton, I guess because it used to be picked by slaves, and she’s a black American? It’s 2025,” Kelly said. “Serena Williams is estimated by Forbes to be worth $350 million. She’s married to a very, very rich man, too.”
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“But she is an oppressed, direct descendant of slaves, I guess, and that’s how she sees herself to this day, because, I guess, ‘generational trauma,’ as the kids call it,” Kelly continued. “She can’t walk by a cotton plant in a luxury hotel to go promote Kim Kardashian’s Skims line without feeling ‘trauma’ that she has to videotape and post on [Instagram].”
Megyn Kelly reacts to Serena Williams’ bizarre post on cotton at a luxury hotel.
“Serena Williams is triggered by cotton I guess because it used to be picked by slaves and she’s a black American? It’s 2025. Serena Williams is estimated by Forbes to be worth $350 million.” pic.twitter.com/wRENsBClAu
— Girl patriot (@Girlpatriot1974) September 27, 2025
This is not the first time Williams has seemed to complain about alleged racism. The tennis superstar, who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, blasted an image of a luxury Paris hotel restaurant last year to her 10 million followers while suggesting the restaurant “denied” her service because she’s black.
“Yikes [Peninsula Paris] I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a [sic] empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids,” she posted August 5, 2024. “Always a first. #Olympic2024.”
Yikes @peninsulaparis 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 pic.twitter.com/lEGJR5WoEn
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) August 5, 2024
However, a spokesperson from The Peninsula Paris responded to the accusation and said the restaurant was simply booked up.
“Dear Mrs. Williams, 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,” the restaurant’s official account posted. “We have always been honored to welcome you and will always be to welcome you again. The Peninsula Paris.”
We have always been honored to welcome you and will always be to welcome you again.
The Peninsula Paris
— The Peninsula Paris (@peninsulaparis) August 5, 2024
Williams recently made headlines for teaming up with Ro, a telehealth company that offers GLP-1 weight loss drugs. The mother of two is featured in marketing campaigns aimed at normalizing the drugs, and she’s openly discussed using them for weight loss herself.
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