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…
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 US Open defeat on Saturday to 20-year-old underdog Naomi Osaka.
“We’re going to call it like it is — sexist. We have more work to do with women’s equality,” singer, actress and television personality Rowland told The Post at the Prabal Gurung fashion show on Sunday. “It was horrible; I was there.”
Williams struggled throughout the Grand Slam match, at one point smashing her racket in anger and getting dinged a point. After Williams’ ensuing altercation with a chair umpire, the US Tennis Association ruled she engaged in a form of “verbal abuse” and fined the star athlete $17,000 for three code violations.
Rowland isn’t having it.
“Ridiculous,” fumes the co-founding member of Destiny’s Child. “She didn’t yell at the umpire; she simply called him a thief, which is exactly what he is.”
“I think that if it was a man in [Serena’s] position, it would have been absolutely different,” she adds.
Rowland is also speaking out in support of Osaka, who wept during the trophy ceremony as a belligerent crowd booed her victory. “I felt bad for Naomi because — as Serena stated — she did play a wonderful game,” Rowland says. “It was sad that she couldn’t even have a moment for herself. It was very awkward.”
In addition to taking in tennis matches, the Grammy-winning artist is working on her new album. At home, she’s harmonizing with her 3-year-old son, Titan Jewell. “I do sing with him all the time,” she says. “He’s literally in a music class right now. He’s loving it.”
