Serena Williams went for the ace in her 2024 ESPY Awards monologue.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner and host of this 12 months’s awards in Los Angeles got here into the show with loads of comedic material, and one joke got here on the expense of Fever phenom Caitlin Clark.
Williams — who entered the stage surrounded by people in tennis outfits — first praised the No. 1 overall pick within the 2024 WNBA Draft before making a quip.
“Caitlin Clark had an incredible 12 months and is nominated for 3 awards,” Williams began her joke to an enormous applause on the packed Dolby Theatre. “You might be the Larry Bird in that you simply are an incredible player, you may have ties to Indiana, and white persons are really crazy about you.”
Clark, playing Friday for the Fever in Indianapolis, didn’t look like in attendance for the annual award show.
Williams hit on quite a few topics to open the show, including Kendrick Lamar’s beef with fellow rapper Drake, Shohei Ohtani getting hundreds of thousands stolen by his ex-interpreter and ladies’s sports playing second fiddle on ESPN’s airwaves to the opposite major sports leagues — and cornhole.
However the joke about Clark looked as if it would resonate most on social media, which had mixed reactions.
“Shame on you, @serenawilliams . What a disgusting comment. Do higher,” wrote one user on X.
“it was a joke, it was not that serious,” wrote one other user replying to a video of Williams’ joke.
“Good Lord. Even when she’s just messing around, why even go there? Unbelievable,” wrote one other.
“I mean she ain’t unsuitable lol,” one other added.
Clark, during her rookie 12 months with the Fever, was nominated for 3 awards in the course of the show: best women’s athlete, best record-breaking performance and best women’s college athlete.
