Tennis Stars Serena Williams, Yes Caroline Wozniacki big butt skit not funny.

by Staff December 15, 2012 15 Comments News Opinion Sports Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) By now I’m sure you’ve seen the caricature-esq impersonation of Serena Williams performed by Caroline Wozniacki. If you haven’t here’s what happened. During an exhibition match in Brazil, Danish tennis player Wozniacki stuffs her bra and shorts to increase the size of her breast and apple bottom during her match against Maria Sharapova. Honestly, when I first saw the picture I immediately thought “she looks ridiculous“. Not because of the claims of racial undertones; but it simply wasn’t funny. I’ve seen impersonations performed by non-professionals (like my family members around the dinner table) who were funnier. Yeah, yeah I get it; it’s a joke she’s suppose to look ridiculous right? Really? I’ll come back to that shortly. Some say this so called friend of Serena’s was only joking (as she claims); others see her exploit as racist.

Dictionary.com defines racism as “a doctrine or belief that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and the right to rule others”. Based on that definition I can’t totally agree that Wozniacki’s performance was racist if I use the definition as a reference point; but I do believe that she (along with most people) have a predisposed thought process that desensitizes them to the strife that many suffer in the name of a joke.

Overall, as a human race, our intolerance has festered and is boiling over with the inability to be compassionate; especially when it comes to those who find themselves successful in an arena where very few people look like them. I almost feel as if a house nigger shows up, props himself on the shoulder of the offender and says “don’t worry bout us. we’s gon’ hush up. No matter what you do or say massah we ain’t gon’ complain. We knows you shole been good to us and we’s grateful; we’s here and that’s a good thing. Look how far you’ve let us come. So you just gon’ head with whatever you wanna do or say”. So amazing that the offenders get a pass and the offended are suppose to be the bigger person, smile and let it go.

The real question we should be asking is why are the physical characteristics of Serena being made into a joke? These are characteristics that are directly tied to African Americans and there is nothing we can do about it. It’s how we are built. Amazing that “voluptuous” and “fat ass” were not terms used positively when identifying body parts until J Lo hit the scene. And even then the compliment wasn’t paid to Black women. Sistah’s have been carrying this feature (pun intended) since the beginning of time yet it’s only acceptable when the masses give the green light.

There are claims that Serena Williams wasn’t offended and just rolled with it. But really what sort of statement is Serena Williams suppose to put out after a stunt like that? Whatever she could have possibly said would be so heavily scrutinized that we wouldn’t even remember how it all began. It’s pretty sad when voyeuristic behavior performed by tabloid media is accepted (but then again we are a sad people) because we write it off as “par for the course“. If you accept the riches that your talents will bring then you agree that any one on the face of the earth has a right to disrespect you in the name of their opinion or as a joke in this case.

People (not just Black women) have suffered at the hands of people who are well, assholes. I really don’t feel like coming up with another word because asshole works so well. Assholes usually stick and move with a hidden agenda. The issue I have with this particular asshole (Wozniacki) is that she is the most dangerous kind of asshole. She seems to be operating in a zombie like state. Doing what she has seen others do; totally unaware of what her behavior suggests about how she really feels about her “friend“. If ever given the opportunity I would first like to ask Caroline Wozniacki what she thinks of Serena Williams. Not that she would answer honestly but I would really like to know.

This brings me to my point in the first paragraph about Caroline Wozniacki looking ridiculous. Unlike an addiction or learned behavior Serena Williams can’t help the donk. So to take jabs at her physical features is insensitive. Caroline, do you really in your heart of hearts think that with everything Serena Williams has endured in the world of tennis (where only a handful of Black women have excelled) that she really thought your display of how “you” see her was at all funny? I’m sorry I’ve made the mistake of using the word “think“. In order to “think” you must first care. You Caroline could careless about Serena.

If you were a real friend you would know how this makes Serena feel even without her confiding in you that it bothers her. Which I’m sure she hasn’t. The last thing she needs is her “friends” tweeting “OMG. Serena can’t take a joke.” Do Serena Williams a favor and find someone else to mock. You can start with yourself and the fact that you have yet to win a Grand Slam title. Now there’s a quick way to start trending.

Staff Writer; Nikki Woods

Also connect with this talented sista via Facebook; NikkIsTruth and Twitter; NikkiThoughts.

Can also visit her online at; http://theaffirmedtruth.blogspot.com

15 Comments

Mack says:

December 19, 2012 at 9:59 am

Imagine the blowback from this little stunt if Serena’s last name was Schwartz, and this chick had wore an extra large sausage nose onto the court. Would anybody uphold it as a friendly joke then? Man, folks would be scrambling over themselves offering apologies and condemnation. B’nai B’rith would release a statement; the Anti-Defamation League would be knocking on the door of any company using this girl for endorsements. And all of pro tennis would be on a major asskissing campaign.

But this is what happens, ladies, when you don’t value your own beauty. This is what you get when you forsake the gifts God gave you and run after the inferior beauty of other women. If you don’t value your own beauty, why should anyone else???

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Terrance Amen says:

December 19, 2012 at 3:47 am

This is yet another example of the love hate relationship whites have with our people. The tennis player was showing how beautiful our sisters look and wished she could look like that as well. This is why you see so many white woman burning in the sun to look like us, shooting their lips, and butts up with whatever they use to fill up what they don’t have. The sad part to this is our own people not realizing how beautiful we are and end up doing the opposite.

Our women spend their hard earned money straightening their hair, adding color, lightning their face to look like whom? Men also do this to a lesser extent. This is yet another example of the slave mind that continues to be passed down from generation to generation. It’s time to break the mental shackles and free ourselves in order to come together and be the great people we once were.

Black Unity means financial independence and happiness

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Nikki Woods says:

December 18, 2012 at 6:24 pm

@Mary – thanks for your comment. I’m not painting Caroline as a bad person. I’m simply saying she has asshole tendencies. It wouldn’t have mattered to me who did that impersonation. It was simply tasteless. As I stated in the article, what is Serena suppose to do? Throw up the Black Panther fist? Or perhaps call Reverend Al? The light that shines on Serena is so bright all she could do is applaud just like everyone else in the crowd. Serena and Venus Williams have undergone more scrutiny as Blacks in professional world of tennis than we will ever know about. And the others being mocked were mocked for their actions (hair shaking, shreaking, etc.) not their physical make up.

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Nikki Woods says:

December 18, 2012 at 6:18 pm

@Rick – Thank you for your compliment. I couldn’t agree more. Every individual will have short comings. We’re flawed by nature. It’s simply amazing to me that no matter how successful a person is there is always a person willing to focus on irrelevant facts.

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Nikki Woods says:

December 18, 2012 at 6:14 pm

@Eleanor – imitation is indeed the highest form of flattery. Now if we could just embrace everything we are culturally (including our hair) then we’re getting some where! Options (like hair extensions and weave) are great but a white person could argue that we (Black women) go to extreme lengths for their hair texture and they would be correct.

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Nikki Woods says:

December 18, 2012 at 6:11 pm

@Sam Ojekwe – OK! Sam tell us how you really feel. True indeed, the act was pretty tasteless.

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Ramses says:

December 16, 2012 at 12:10 pm

I agree Chrish Evert is a big hater of Serena Williams (who has won more titles than her sorry husband Greg Norman). I would agree there are white females who are tired of getting their asses whipped by her. However, it doesn’t take away the fact Serena has opened the door to be caricatured due to some of her clothes designs. The woman has figure, and in a world culture (not just American culture) that is infatuated with the body type of woman, I don’t think it’s smart for her to represent herself in the manner she has done in terms of her clothing attire. Serena has gone to some award shows in some questionable type of clothing and I am a Black Man saying this. I mena would you want your daughters wearing some of the stuff Serena has worn. Even unattractive women have a point when they say these females only get attention for their looks, especially when they’re not winning. When Anna kournikova was losing all the time, yet getting endorsement deals, she was still getting hated on by jealous white women too. The difference is is that Serena wins, but Anna, to my recollection, wasn’t out there basically giving you an image of what her booty looks like naked through revealing clothing. I could be wrong fro that but I’m pretty sure I would remember pictures of her with those types of clothes and if she was, she deserves the same type of criticism. Not a race thing it’s a self-respect thing. Serena has not always presented herself in the most respectable fashion, and if you sat her down, she seems like the type of woman who would actually admit she hasn’t. What i do like about Serena though it seems she’s self-reflective. She doesn’t seem stubborn. Fierce? Yes. Stubborn? No. And I like her fierce nature because the way she presents it not over-the-top. Sometimes females have a hard time transitioning form young Woman to Womanhood. Things you thought look cute when you were 18 don’t look so cute when you’re thirty. My ex-uncle in-law told me that the older you get the more conservative you get. This was something I fault in 2002 but boy he was not wrong at all. I would love for older females to take a look back at some of their pics when they were younger and tell me they are not sometimes embarrassed at how they looked. Many say “what was i thinking wearing that?” The boys you thought were cute at 18 are the same boys who have you messed up in the head at 30 or 35. You wonder to yourselves “what did I see in him?” I do not make any excuses for this European chick to hate at all don’t get me wrong. But i had issues with Serena’s self-presentation way before this silly act by this european chick and expect more from her. If that was your daughter, you wouldn’t want her with her ass out like the way she does or being on twitter crying over some lame rappers. When I saw that Serena actually dated Drake, my respect for her went down. I thought she was better than that. Apparently i made an ass out of myself for assuming that. I don’t know common personally but he seem a whole lot more sensible than Drake. It’s bigger than the race stuff, which to me lessens things a lot of the times because we always think criticism towards us is from a racial dynamic. Well i say my share towards black people and I’m from the group. Is my stuff racial or values-driven? My values come before my race. All day.

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LINUS says:

December 16, 2012 at 11:55 am

Great OP ED…and YES, “asshole” was the best word usage. #RealTalk

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Orville says:

December 16, 2012 at 11:05 am

I think Caroline Wozniacki is just a loser this is a player who was over hyped by the media a couple of years ago. Wozniacki’s ranking has dropped she’s fallen back from number 1 in the world in January 2012 to now being ranked number 10. Wozniacki hasn’t won a slam and she also has a losing record against Serena Williams. Serena has a 4-1 edge in their head to head series.

Wozniacki might not be cognizant her joke is being interpreted as racist since she is from Denmark but her joke comes across as stupid, immature, and she looks extremely foolish and jealous.

I am glad people spoke up and criticized this lady for her stupidity.
Serena Williams is constantly attacked by the racist white media and tennis experts due to her body type. It isn’t new it is tired and played out.

Of course, Serena said nothing, if she complained the racists would say she’s too sensitive and can’t take a joke. Serena did the right thing, but honestly, I think it just proves this racist joke that the tennis industry is uncomfortable with Serena’s incredible success.

Remember, Serena is 31 years old and that’s considered ancient in tennis yet she is EASILY beating the white girls! Serena only lost 4 matches in 2012 won 7 titles including Wimbledon, Olympics, US OPEN, and WTA Championships.

There are a lot of bitter white women on the WTA Tour who are indeed jealous of Serena Williams. Here is a black woman, who is close to the end of her career, she plays part time yet stlll easily destroys the competition.

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Ramses says:

December 16, 2012 at 10:34 am

I’ve seen “black” women show jealousy towards other “black” women who have curvacious bodies because they lack the same “assets.” So does that make them black racist? Lol. You’ll are some overly sensitive people a lot of the times. And there are some pale looking females who have asses for days so to think the genetic strain that produces hourglass figures exists only in women with a deep melanin content is truly absurd. And the answer to your question t”he real question we should be asking is why are the physical characteristics of Serena being made into a joke” is simple: because a lot of black women are on tv, youtube, and other social media “twerking” like it’s funny. Instead of trying to make other people responsible for your sense of self-respect, maybe these females should carry themselves in a more proper fashion socially and maybe they would be taken more serious. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love Serena Williams and been a fan of hers since her and sister been playing and have always supported them even when black people were calling her and her sister “nappy heads.” However, Serena is not innocent. Serena knows how big her ass is. She knows that her ass commands attention. So if she really didn’t want the attention, then she should wear skirts that provide much more coverage than the biking shorts she wears most of the time. You can’t invite the attention and then get mad when the attention comes. Now if Serena didn’t wear these things and then someone attempted to make fun of her, when she never carried herself in an exposing fashion, then I’d concede this was out of line. But a lot of you think that any female can carry herself in an overly sexual way, and then when someone speaks on it, makes fun of it, or if a man approaches a woman in the way she presents herself, she’s been disrespected. That’s backwards to say the least. You hear a lot of women demanding respect just because they are a black woman. This is nonsense. Just because black women tend to have big asses doesn’t mean they have to wear clothes that overly-sexualizes the asset. White women were known for big breasts but all of them didn’t wear clothes that always showed the cleavage. And furthermore, when they are presenting themselves in a slutty fashion, you don’t see white women just coming to their defense like that just because they’re white women. Black women always feel the need to come to other black women’s defense, even before the said black woman defends herself!!! Lol. You’ll allow yourslves to be traumatized by what you see in the media when it concerns a black woman when it doesn’t have to. A lot of times you’ll make things racial when it’s a self-respect issue. Serena is a beautiful sister. Doesn’t mean she’s without faults. She threatened to stuff a ball down a line court judge’s throat when he got a call wrong some years back. Was she right just because he was wrong? Of course not. I understand her frustration but she was still wrong. People tried to make that racial. You don’t threaten any man like that. Black women love when their ass gets them compliments, but hate when it brings criticisms. And the way you present your “ass” (physical and personality wise) will bring you criticism when you do it in a socially unappealing way. I see women wearing tights and coochie cutting shorts, jeans showing the cracks of their behinds. I don’t respect them because they are not respectable and I would not want any son of mind with them. That’s not racial, it’s values driven. All black people don’t have good values. In spite of her attractiveness, all that ass showing has not gotten her married. If i do recall, she was on twitter complaining about Drake getting with some video vixen. Matter fact here it is

http://hellobeautiful.com/2501821/serena-williams-drake-dollicia-bryan-twitter/

She goes from Common to Drake? And then gets on twitter embarrassing herself like a young high school girl. Just because you have a big butt doesn’t make you a “Lady.” My grandmother taught me this. Serena is not above this, no matter how much money she has. It’s funny how black women hold other people accountable for their criticism of individual black women making fools of themselves (and the criticisms are justified) yet they remain mostly silent on the black women who present themselves negatively. You don’t see prominent black women commenting on these females who represent themselves in the most reprehensible ways. Hmmmmmm. Makes you wonder don’t it? Maybe it’s because they really don’t care about you and expect you and your family to raise you. I expect the same. A black slut is no different than a white one except the black one wants to be one until she gets criticized for it. Then she wants to be a “born-again” virgin after the fact. I had this same experience with a 40 year old woman professor in college a few years back. When she was slutting herself out and no one was critical of her, she thought she was high and mighty. When I criticized her, then she shrank because she wasn’t used to men holding her accountable, something black women run from on a continuous basis yet expect other people to do.

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Mary says:

December 16, 2012 at 9:48 am

While I understand that in the past there have been intentionally insensitive remarks regarding the stereotypical African American body I don’t think this was the intention by Caroline Wozniacki. I’m a big tennis fan and follow it closely. These teasing immitations are done by many of the tennis players at exhibitions and are not meant to offend or be mean spirited. Players make fun of Maria Sharapova shaking her hair and the way she walks, John McEnroe’s hair and screaming, Roddick’s watch shake, Roger’s hair flip, Rafa’s muscular backside wedgie problem, etc. In fact I was at an exhibition where Andy Roddick imitated Serena by stuffing towels down his front and back. Serena was there in the crowd and she was laughing and clapping as much if not more than anyone. I also saw a press conference a few months ago where Caroline said consistently glowing things about Serena regarding her oncourt achievements but more so talked about the good person Serena is off the court. Does that sound like someone that was trying to hurt Serena or bash a whole group of people? While I’m sure she won’t do this imitation again, it’s very irresponsible to paint someone as such a bad person without knowing the context, the people involved, and their relationship.

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Rick says:

December 15, 2012 at 9:41 pm

Excellent article! We are all culturally conditioned to be that “black” is inferior. Yes, even African American people. How react to this “snow job” matters most. I’ve read endless hubris excusing this stereotypical vitriol. It remains an insulting, undervaluing,marginalization of one of our greatest modern heroes. Thereby, levitating to the status of intolerable behavior. Neither friend nor foe is entitled to such bullying. Yet another attempt to minimize this exemplary representative of dedication and ensuing results. Let us embrace our heroes and heroines a bit tighter. Celebrating their achievements with a wary eye for the accompanying envy and despite. Lest we forget the guttural attacks on Olympic star, Gabby Douglas? Enough is QUITE enough. The timid, the more forgiving, and the feet- shuffling crowd are excused. This is serious, grown up business.

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Jose says:

December 15, 2012 at 8:28 pm

I LOVE BLACK WOMEN BODIES spec. the booty …JUST ALL WOMAM, STRONG & BEAUTIFUL

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Eleanore says:

December 15, 2012 at 8:23 pm

White women will always be JEALOUS of black women’s beautiful lips, curvacious butts and gorgeous black and brown skin. Otherwise why would they pay so much money to copy us by plumping up their lips, butts and tanning their pale white skin. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Never forget that……

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Sam Ojekwe says:

December 15, 2012 at 7:55 pm

all said and done, the elementary truth really is that CAROLINE WOZNIACKI is a CLASS-LESS, CRUDE, CRASS, UN-COUTH, UN-CULTURED, UN-REFINED, UN-POLISHED, ABRASIVE and OFFENSIVE GUTTER SNIPE. PERIOD.

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