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Serena Williams is opening up about her appearance in Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” visual album as Khia takes aim at the tennis pro for her provocative dancing.
The 21-time Grand Slam victor spoke at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and said that her connection with video director Dikal Rimmasch is how she was approached to appear in the “Sorry” portion of the short film.
“I have known the director since I was like nine years old,” Williams told event reporters. “I know Beyoncé pretty well, so they were like, ‘We would love for you to be in this particular song. It’s about strength and it’s about courage, and that’s what we see you as.’ ”
The “Formation” singer wanted Williams to be carefree in her movements for the upbeat track. Though the athlete admits it was hard for her to loosen up initially, she got into it.
“She told me that she just wants me to dance, like just be really free and just dance like nobody’s looking and go all out,” Williams said. “So that wasn’t easy in the beginning, but then it got easier…I thought that particular song on the visual album was really a strong song, and it was also really fun at the same time.”
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Williams has been praised for her twerking abilities previously, but rapper Khia was clearly upset about the visual.
The “My Neck, My Back” performer spoke with Hip Hop Dugout April 29 and gave them an earful about what she thought of the dancing.
“[Beyoncé had] Serena Williams as her g—— jester, dancing and stripping for her,” she continued. “I can’t believe Serena got on there and was Beyoncé’s prop, twerking in a bodysuit in this long a–, black, slave a– video. Here you is, black as a black juicy berry, and you getting in front of this hoe and letting her have her legs gapped open in the chair while you twerking for her like the slaves masters had us doing.”
The rapper also took aim at Beyoncé.
“F—- her,” Khia tells the interviewers. “First of all, the video was tired, and through, and long and it made black people look bad as hell. B—–, you walking around with this blonde long a– hair, but you want African queens and kings in your video.”
Khia posted several clips of the interview on her Instagram page. In the one below, the Thug Misses accuses Beyoncé of colorism for sitting “in the queen chair” as Serena performs in front of her.
