Will Smith Movie About Venus & Serena Williams’ Dad Called Out For Sexism

A movie about Serena and Venus Williams which focuses on their dad teaching them tennis is being called sexist even though they’re the ones behind it. This can be counted as the biggest bad hot take of the week. Twitter mostly agrees that this person seems to be highly misinformed on the making of “King Richard.”

Not to mention the real-life history of Serena and Venus in general, star Will Smith as their father in the role, who sees young Serena and Venus turning into sports prodigies. A woman named Dr. Jessica Taylor said that this was more about their father than them, she found it insulting for some reason and to which she expressed her anger, on their behalf. She commented, “Did they seriously make a film called ‘King Richard’ about the success of Serena and Venus Williams – but it’s about their dad, Richard?” maybe Dr. Taylor failed to realize that Venus and Serena are executive producers of the film.

The “they” referred to here are Venus and Serena. The internet let Dr. Taylor know about it, one person responded “Venus and Serena wanted it that way. They are the executive producers of the movie. Please sit down somewhere.” It’s not clear if the good doctor got through the message.

She followed up with another equally tone-deaf remark saying, “I get this has annoyed people but I genuinely didn’t expect a film about two of the most powerful, successful, and amazing black female athletes to be named after a man, or center a man.” She adds, “I would have loved this film to be all about them and not a man. That’s it really.”

Dr. Taylor does not seem to understand the way it’s presented. The implication is that there’s sexism with the way it’s presented. Serena and Venus are on board with this approach to the film, as it’s one they wanted to tell and even signed on to shepherd. They’ve spoken about this in interviews, too, saying they wanted to highlight the role their father played in their lives and the gratitude they feel for his hard work.

It’s funny how other film critics have the same POV as Dr. Taylor. Finding fault in the fact that Will gets most of the shine and not the girls. There are bizarre reactions all the way around, but at least it’s getting the movie some pub. The film is out in theaters and HBO Max right now and word is, it’s really good.

What’s your POV on this one?