Kelly Rowland is making a racket in defense of pal Serena Williams after the tennis great was hit with a five-digit fine following her\u2026<\/b>
\nKelly Rowland is making a racket in defense of pal Serena Williams after the tennis great was hit with a five-digit fine following her US Open defeat on Saturday to 20-year-old underdog Naomi Osaka.
\u201cWe\u2019re going to call it like it is \u2014 sexist. We have more work to do with women\u2019s equality,\u201d singer, actress and television personality Rowland told The Post at the Prabal Gurung fashion show on Sunday. \u201cIt was horrible; I was there.\u201d
Williams struggled throughout the Grand Slam match, at one point smashing her racket in anger and getting dinged a point. After Williams\u2019 ensuing altercation with a chair umpire, the US Tennis Association ruled she engaged in a form of \u201cverbal abuse\u201d and fined the star athlete $17,000 for three code violations.
Rowland isn\u2019t having it.
\u201cRidiculous,\u201d fumes the co-founding member of Destiny\u2019s Child. \u201cShe didn\u2019t yell at the umpire; she simply called him a thief, which is exactly what he is.\u201d
\u201cI think that if it was a man in [Serena\u2019s] position, it would have been absolutely different,\u201d she adds.
Rowland is also speaking out in support of Osaka, who wept during the trophy ceremony as a belligerent crowd booed her victory. \u201cI felt bad for Naomi because \u2014 as Serena stated \u2014 she did play a wonderful game,\u201d Rowland says. \u201cIt was sad that she couldn\u2019t even have a moment for herself. It was very awkward.\u201d
In addition to taking in tennis matches, the Grammy-winning artist is working on her new album. At home, she\u2019s harmonizing with her 3-year-old son, Titan Jewell. \u201cI do sing with him all the time,\u201d she says. \u201cHe\u2019s literally in a music class right now. He\u2019s loving it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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