When Serena Williams took to social media Monday to slam a 5-star Parisian hotel for not giving her and her family a table at its famed rooftop restaurant, she initially received widespread support from people who expressed surprise that the establishment couldn’t find a way to accommodate the tennis legend.
But then The Peninsula Hotel responded with an apology for Williams’ “disappointment,” as well as an explanation that its rooftop bar and restaurant were fully booked and couldn’t accommodate guests, including Williams, who didn’t have a reservation.
That’s when people began posting replies to her X post, calling her an “arrogant,” “entitled,” “narcissistic” celebrity who seemed to believe that other diners should lose their tables or be inconvenienced to please her.
“There is literally nothing more entitled than walking into @peninsulaparis during tourist (season) and the Olympics, expecting a table to be ready for you,” one person wrote. Another said, “There might be something else going on in Paris…. Maybe not everything is about you? Just a thought.”
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has been in Paris for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, accompanied by her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and their daughters, Olympia, 6, and Adira, 1. The retired athlete participated in the opening ceremony’s torch relay.
In Williams’ original post, which was viewed more than 5 million times, she wrote: “Yikes @peninsulaparis.” She said she had been “denied access to rooftop to eat in an empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids. Always a first. #Olympic2024. You’re Really Gonna Reject Me?!?!”
Williams’ complaint appears to be centered on the fact that she and her family arrived at the restaurant, saw empty tables and assumed they were available. Her claim of being “denied access” prompted some to wonder if she believed she was being turned away because she had her young children with her or because of her race.
But in its apology, the Peninsula Hotel explained that its rooftop bar was indeed “fully booked” and the unoccupied tables she saw belonged to its gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, “which was fully reserved.”
Readers soon added a “context” warning to Williams’ original post, pointing out that she was not “denied access” but that the restaurant was fully booked.
“The arrogance and vengeance of Serena Williams!” wrote Australian entertainment reporter Peter Ford on X, appearing to take particular issue with the way she went public with her complaints. “Things are kind of busy in Paris right now. You need to book ahead. … Does she want regular people kicked out to accommodate her party?”
While a number of people offered versions of, “For Serena Williams you find a table,” one person pointed out that the Paris dining experience, which involves luxuriating over meals, means that high-end restaurants typically don’t expect to turn tables multiple times each evening. “So if a booking is made for 8pm, they will not seat someone at that table at 7,” the person said. “So at 7 pm a restaurant may look empty at the moment, but every table is actually reserved. You can’t take this as a personal slight.”
Others said it was “tone-deaf” and “not a good look” for a wealthy person like Williams to make an issue of not getting a table at a luxury restaurant during a massive international event like the Olympics.
“Nobody is more ostracized or victimized than people in the $300 million net worth club,” someone wrote with faux sympathy. “It’s truly remarkable how they carry on.”
“Coming on to X to publicly complain and name a Parisian restaurant is pretty tone deaf,” another person wrote. “A lot of us are just trying to afford groceries these days. I respect celebs who use their name to help others or animals, not whine about not getting preferential treatment.”
Someone else asked Williams what her goal was in going public with her complaint: “Outrage from strangers? Hard working servers lose their jobs?”
And yet others offered solutions for Williams, saying she could probably buy the hotel herself or she should, at the very least, make reservations. Someone else suggested: “It’s really simple Ms. Williams, reserve your room at The Ritz.”
