Common interviews his ex-girlfriend Serena Williams for a candid discussion about body image, race and her legacy in a new interview for ESPN that aired last night. And THAT was one for the books. Go inside for the highlights…
Tennis superstar Serena Williams and rap icon Common were once madly in love. That relationship has fizzled, but they’re still really good friends.
The former lovers sit down for an hour-long ESPN special, “The Undefeated In-Depth: Serena with Common” that aired last night where they discussed an array of topics.
Making waves through the tennis world Serena and her sister Venus Williams single handily changed the game of tennis. But, it wasn’t easy. They were (and still are) two African-American women playing (and slaying) a predominately white sport.
During the discussion with Common, Rena talked about how she dealt with being the only black person in her sport and how she never wanted to be like everyone else.
“Growing up and playing these tournaments when I was younger, I really didn’t see a lot of people that was my color,” she said. “I think I just got used to it. Then when you go to like Russia, you just really kind of stick out. I like to stick out. One thing about me, I don’t want to be everyone else. When everyone’s doing something, I’m probably going to try it a different way because I just like to be different. I don’t want to fit in a mold.”
Serena is arguably the greatest tennis player of our time, but that came with scrutiny. With her body structure, he competitive attitude, and confidence, everyone had something to say about Serena where at one time made her feel like her body was inadequate.
“There was a time where I didn’t feel incredibly comfortable about my body, because I felt like I was too strong," Serena shared. "And then I had to take a second and think, who says I’m too strong? This body has enabled me to be the greatest player I can be and I’m not going to scrutinize that. This is great. I mean, this is amazing.”
While strides have been made in the sport of tennis in regards to race, sexism is still prevalent. When asked if she thinks she would ever be considered as one of the greatest athletes ever, she said if she wasn’t a woman or black that wouldn’t even be a question.
“I think, if I were a man, I would’ve been in that conversation a long, long time ago. Like six, seven years ago. Eight years ago … I think being a woman is a whole new set of problems from a society that you have to deal with, as well -- and being black. So it’s a lot to deal with. Especially lately, I’ve been able to really, really speak up for women’s rights, as well, because I think that gets lost in color or gets lost in cultures. We are doctors, we are lawyers, we are athletes, we are everything. We are CEOs. Women make up so much of this world.”
So true!
Check out the full candid discussion below:
