Serena Williams hosted last night’s ESPYs and… the less said the better. No, I’ll say this – she looked amazing! Great hair, great makeup, great fashion. She changed ensembles several times during the show and most of the looks were great. But she was screwing up those punchlines, wasn’t she? Damn. It’s crazy because Serena is actually really funny in real life. She knows how to tell a joke and she’s hilarious off the cuff. But give her a script with a dozen “set-up + punchline” jokes and she just could not do it. She also cannot sing, but damn, she really tried to turn it into ESPY Karaoke night.
Serena wore this Armani gown for the red carpet and for the opening monologue. Fantastic. She brought her husband Alexis Ohanian and daughter Olympia to the show. She’s still not bringing her baby Adira out, which is fine, but it’s funny to me that Olympia has already been on dozens, if not hundreds, of red carpets and public events.
Alexis was seated just behind the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the ESPY audience, and I believe that Alexis is quite close with Harry and Meghan, as is Serena, obviously. Serena gave the Sussexes a special shoutout in her opening monologue:
Serena out here telling Prince Harry and Meghan not to breathe too much. You know the accusations are coming 🤣 #ESPYS24 #ESPYS pic.twitter.com/8VlfTOjuxo
— . (@lettie4u) July 12, 2024
I’m sure that flew over people’s heads in the audience, but Serena was absolutely mocking the British media’s obsession with crying about the Sussexes stealing the Windsors’ nonexistent thunder. My favorite part was when Serena mocked Drake (her ex) and crip-walked to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
Serena Williams just crip walked at the ESPY Awards to 'Not Like Us' making fun of Drake
"and if I've learned anything this year, its that none of us should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar… he will make your hometown not like you, the next time Drake sits courtside at a… pic.twitter.com/KAwTdm4uWR
— SOUND (@itsavibe) July 12, 2024
Oh, and Serena, Venus Williams and Quinta Brunson mocked Harrison Butker, that misogynist who plays for the Chiefs.
"So, go ahead and enjoy women's sports like you would any other sports, because they are sports." – Venus Williams
"Except you, Harrison Butker. We don't need you." – Serena Williams
"At all. Like, ever." – Quinta Brunson #ESPYS pic.twitter.com/RhvxfiHUWN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 12, 2024
Photos courtesy of Getty, Backgrid.
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- Hollywood, CA – The 2024 ESPY Awards at The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. Pictured: Serena Williams BACKGRID USA 11 JULY 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Juan Rico / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA – The 2024 ESPY Awards at The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. Pictured: Serena Williams BACKGRID USA 11 JULY 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Juan Rico / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA – The 2024 ESPY Awards at The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. Pictured: Serena Williams, Olympia, Alexis Ohanian BACKGRID USA 11 JULY 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Juan Rico / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
The BM already are talking about the “brutal joke” they had to squirm through. I’m like y’all just don’t get it do you? Or as Upton Sinclair succinctly put it 100 years ago “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”.
Wait, does the British press think that joke was a dig at H&M?
Whether they believe that or not they’ll definitely tell everyone it was. How many of their readers will watch it to understand what actually happened?
@Becks yeah they are trying to frame it like she was insulting them for being ” attention seekers” , when I, you, and most people who pay attention probably immediately realized it was a joke about how the Sussexes are so horrible for” overshadowing” the BRF by hiking, posting pictures of jam, and as Serena said breathing.
Apparently sarcasm is beyond their understanding. Huh. Go figure.
Yes! Several of the first articles that came out described the snub or brutal comment Serena made to the Sussexes and how they grimaced through it.
My immediate reaction was “How dumb can these reporters get???” They obviously have no sense of humor at all, and they certainly do not understand the relationships between these people.
They are probably the same commentators that thought being joked about on late night comedy shows in the US showed how much Americans hated Prince Harry and Meghan!
A lot of celebrities would pay big money to be part of a joke on some of these shows.
Serena looks stunning!! Loved the joke about not breathing too much – she knows what the tabs are like. I’m glad they can laugh about it too.
She looks great. I usually hate her styling and makeup. This time, she looked like a superstar.
She looked beautiful and I thought she did a a good job. And I loved the Harrison Butker and oxygen jokes!
I’ve only seen the red carpet pic (Armani) but hot damn, Serena is looking fiiiiine. Makeup and hair looked stunning. I loved that dress – it fit her perfectly. No notes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Serena blonde before, but it really works on her
I agree, she just gets better with age.
I liked both those dresses. The fish scales and feathers – I dunno, I liked it a lot. The black looked amazing. I didn’t see any of her jokes so can’t comment there.. But she has a beautiful family..
The Harrison joke…mic drop!
Serena in that black dress with the sparkle at the top! Omg.That was such a stunning look. She was glowing and gorgeous. It took me a minute to get the harrison Butker joke bc I’d already forgotten him and put him out of my mind. But amazing. Love it.
I love Serena, I think she and Venus looked beautiful and happy. Love the bit with the amazing Quinta. Also, I saw a video on IG of Harry and Megan leaving the auditorium and EVERYONE, all the stars, were watching them. They are very charismatic to other famous people.
Do you have a link to that video? I missed it
I’ve only seen clips but I thought that Butker was iconic. That’ll last. And the oxygen one, well… if you know, you know.
Oh how I would be so happy if Harrison Butker got turned into the butt of the joke by all talented famous women. Because you know, the only thing men are gonna say, how good he treats them and it is his personal beliefs and all that bullshit.
About last night…two points. Serena’s not so subtle dig at the BaRF and crazy British media. Secondly, noticed only people she trust were surrounding Prince Harry and Princess Meghan. Their security detail was positioned behind them and Alexis was positioned behind and to the right of Prince Harry. At some point, Venus was to the right of Prince Harry. TOTAL BOSS LADY. Oh, and best dressed male and female, Serena of course and Myles Garrett.
You know, when Serena was getting attacked by racists in the media, Beyonce got her under her wings and made sure everyone knew she was supporting her. It feels like Serena is doing the same thing to Meghan. It is so nice to see.
This is a thing Black folks do for each other regularly. Not just friends. And I love it for us. My parents have talked about experiences both giving and receiving this special protection in their industries and careers over the years.
It’s also why Beyonce and Jay Z made the moves they did to support Meghan before she managed to escape the clutches of the Royal cult and why Beyonce supported Megan Thee Stallion (both overtly and covertly) in her legal battle with her label.
Completely shallow comment but, I LOVED both of Serena’s gowns. I’m not normally a fan of her fashion but, she knocked it out of the park last night with both those dresses.
I LOVED that red dress and the opening black dress. Some of the dresses in between I was more meh about, but overall I thought she looked great and did a good job.
The oxygen joke re: the Sussexes was hilarious, it was such a pointed dig at the British media. I am sure a lot of people in the room were like “what is she talking about?” but for the Sussex fans watching…..we got it.
The Harrison Butker joke was also on point. I loved the whole segment about women’s sports.
Overall I enjoyed the show. we usually don’t watch it (my husband was like “its the only sports related thing I have zero interest in, along with the NFL Honors”), but we put it on last night to watch Harry’s speech and after he spoke we kept it on because we were enjoying it.
Serena I felt was nervous.. she’s used to crowds but being the MC is a lot of pressure. I rarely watch awards shows because the host are horrible, Serena was far better than anyone else I’ve seen in the past. I got her jokes and enjoyed seeing her in so many beautiful outfits. She really has a gorgeous hour glass “bombshell” figure.
I can understand what happened there honestly. I like to make jokes when there aren’t a lot of people around but put me in front of more than four people and I don’t think I’m funny anymore. I could never judge somebody for being nervous in public but maybe it’s just the anxiety talking.
Look at how many professional actors and comedians bomb when they MC awards shows, it’s not an easy job. I was pleasantly impressed with Serena.
Serena looked great and I liked her “song” 😄
I LOVE LOVE LOVE red carpet pics of Serena and Alexis. Every single time that man is grinning like the happiest guy in the world. Harry and Megan are so sweet together and love each other, but Alexis Ohanian is on a whole other level with how much he loves his wife. That is the face of a man who 100% believes he is already dead and living in heaven.
I really liked that he had his hand protectively on his daughter’s shoulder.
I love the over-it vibe Alexis is giving in those photos — her relationship with her iconic mom seems so sweet, but she’s still clearly a very normal kid.
Serena looked incredible. As did Venus. And Quinta is the best.
That joke was clearly directed at the British media and the derangers. I cackled.
Yes to that monologue dress, but more importantly, for me, were her TWO watches! I don’t know why, but I just loved the look.