Serena Williams has finally commented on Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki's impersonation of her at an exhibition match in Sao Paulo, saying she does not believe it was racist. Some had accused the former No. 1-ranked tennis star Wozniacki of racism after she stuffed towels in her bra and shorts in what she said after the match was an imitation of Williams. In an email to USA today, Serena Williams wrote from the island of Mauritus, where she is training for a series of matches in Australia, saying, "I know Caro and I would call her my friend and I don't think she (meant) anything racist by it."
Wozniacki was one of only a few competitors to visit Williams after she underwent surgery for a hematoma in her stomach in 2011, and USA Today reports that the two have exchanged advice on jewelry and boyfriends.
Williams, a six-time No. 1 player with four Olympic gold medals, did indicate that Wozniacki's impersonation might not have been a good decision, even if she was not personally offended.
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"I must add if people feel this way she should take reason and do something different next time," she wrote, adding a smiley emoticon.
She also claimed that she had not seen the video clip of the impersonation until recently. She wrote that she was at a loss as to why her friend had been accused of racism, pointing out that male tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick had both done very similar impersonations of her in the past and caught little heat for it.
"Caro does [it] and now it's racist ??" she wrote. "At the end of the day I spend my time focused on things to become better and not bring me down."
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According to the Daily Mail, Wozniacki's impersonation sparked controversy in the media among many who objected to what they felt was a racially insensitive joke. On feministing.com, an article read, 'Given the history and current-day context of racialized standards of beauty, and the hypersexualization of people of color, when a white woman makes fun of a black women's body, especially in a way that hypersexualizes her and draws on the stereotype of black women's big butts, it's racist."
USA Today notes that Williams has in the past made light of what she calls her extra "assets", saying she is "bootylicious". Last summer she even tweeted a photo of her backside in a red one-piece along with the comment, "Hummm I think this onzie makes me butt look TOO big. Ugh. #BigButtproblems."
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