Tennis star Naomi Osaka says she has one big problem that she badly wants to get rid of: her shyness. It’s something she claims has held her back from having potentially insightful conversations with people like Jay-Z, from whom she could’ve learned quite a bit.
Osaka sent three tweets on Monday, May 4, describing how she once met the hip-hop mogul and clammed up when he began talking to her. But before Osaka told the story, she made a promise to herself to make some personal changes.
“I’m done being shy,” she tweeted. “It’s really a waste of my time. I could’ve shared so many ideas by now, I could’ve had convos with so many different people. All the things I could’ve learned but no I’m over here actually putting my own limiter on myself.
“I was standing next to Jay-Z once and he started talking to me but I got really nervous and started giving one-word replies so he suddenly said, ‘Are you shy?’ and I said, “yeah” and the convo came to a screeching halt. GOD WHYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYY.”
A lot of people told Osaka they can relate to her issue of shyness, with one person tweeting, “Ah! It’s ok. I hate talking, and I manage to feel awkward about being too quiet. Then I also feel awkward when I think I’ve said too much.”
Another person let Osaka know there’s a solid chance that age and time will remedy her shyness problem.
“It won’t always be that way,” one tweet read. “You’re very young. Just finding your way. You’ll evolve. It’ll all be ok.”
It’s likely that Osaka isn’t the first celebrity to be nervous while meeting Jay-Z for the first time.
Other famous people have talked about going into instant fan mode when meeting him, like comedian Hannibal Buress. He began snapping a photo of Jay-Z after seeing him and Beyoncé at the 40/40 club in New York City years ago.
“I guess because the flash was on they noticed and Jay-Z was like, ‘Hey, be cool.’ I was like, ‘Oh, s–t, I’m getting scolded by Jay-Z right now,’ ” Buress told radio station Power 106 in 2018.
Beyoncé has also caused a lot of celebrities to lose it after meeting her. Marsai Martin and Laverne Cox both have told stories about how they reacted.
Although they had different reactions than Osaka did when she met Jay-Z, they may be able to empathize with her some.
But Osaka said even though she’ll work on her shyness, it doesn’t mean that she’ll start rambling senselessly and change completely.
“Pls note: Just because I’m attempting to not be shy doesn’t mean I’ll start pointlessly talking,” she tweeted. “I’m probably still gonna be relatively quiet but I won’t pass on opportunities to speak my mind anymore.”
