Serena Williams left uncomfortable with NYC hotel’s cotton plant decoration: ‘Doesn’t feel great’
Tennis icon Serena Williams appeared irked by the decor choice of an unnamed New York City hotel after she spotted a cotton plant in one of its hallways.
It’s unclear which hotel Williams was in, but the tennis legend was in the Big Apple on Thursday after promoting Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS/Nike launch the day prior.
The 43-year-old Williams recorded her walk down the hallway and spotted a table with a vase with some cotton plants sticking out.
Williams said in the video (posted to her Instagram story), ‘How do we feel about cotton as decoration? Personally, for me, it doesn’t feel great.’
She then decided to pick one of the balls off the plant and rubbed it around her fingers.
Williams then shuddered and put it back down, before likely going on with her day.
Serena Williams appeared put-off by a cotton plant in the hallway of her New York City hotel
Williams was in New York to promote a Nike collaboration with Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS brand
It’s not exactly clear why Williams reacted the way that she did to the seemingly innocuous plant.
One possible explanation could be cotton’s history in the United States, which is tied to the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Williams was a very vocal activist throughout her years on the tennis circuit and has continued that since she’s retired.
But cotton is likely something Williams comes across a lot in her post-tennis life as she’s grown her interests in the world of fashion, as evidenced by her appearance at this SKIMS/Nike event.
Williams is still tied to the ‘Swoosh’ – long after she played her final tennis match at the 2022 US Open.
A number of fans were confused why Williams would have such a visceral reaction to a plant just sitting there in the hallway. Many others resorted to mocking her for what they believed to be faux-outrage or race-baiting.
‘Wait until she finds out Skims uses cotton in some of their clothing,’ read one comment on X.
Another user wrote, ‘It kinda looks nice to me. Nobody told her to pick it!’
Williams recently revealed that she’s lost 31 pounds after beginning use of a GLP-1 drug
‘Serena please stop being dumb. These are common fall decorations,’ another post read.
One comment read, ‘Oh please! If it offends you so much, you better be sure not to wear cotton clothes.’
Last month, Serena announced she shed 31lbs in eight months by taking the trendy GLP-1 agonist drug Zepbound, which she obtained through her new role as investor/ambassador of the telehealth company Ro.
‘I feel like a lot of people have this stigma on GLP-1s and say things like, “Oh, lazy people do it,” or “If you’re working hard enough, you don’t need that,”‘ Williams told Vogue.
‘I know for a fact from my experience that it’s simply not true. Sometimes you need help. Your story is your story, and it’s okay to make that choice to do it if you want to. I did, and I’m really happy with it.’
The four-time Olympic gold medalist added: ‘I was putting in the work. I actually think it’s a problem a lot of other women can relate to, that you are in the gym and eating healthy, but just can’t get to the level you want or need to. I feel lighter mentally, I feel sexier, I feel more confident.’
