Paris restaurant apologizes to Serena Williams over snub
PARIS—A luxury Parisian hotel has apologized to tennis great Serena Williams after she complained, in a social media post seen by millions, that she and her family were turned away from its restaurant on Monday.
“Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids. Always a first,” Williams said on X.
Williams, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, was one of the Olympic flame’s torchbearers during the Paris Games’ opening ceremony. She is also among celebrities who have come out to see US gymnastics star Simone Biles compete.
Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places 🫠 but never with my kids. Always a first. 🙄#Olympic2024 pic.twitter.com/lEGJR5WoEn
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) August 5, 2024
Her post was seen by more than 4 million viewers.
The Peninsula Paris, a five-star hotel whose gourmet restaurant offers a view of the Eiffel tower, swiftly responded: “Dear Mrs. Williams, Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight. Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved.”
A second message followed, saying: “We have always been honored to welcome you and will always be to welcome you again.”
Some of the responses to William’s post were supportive. Others said that celebrities had no more right to a fully booked restaurant than anyone else. —REUTERS
