Oh no! It looks like Venus Williams just turned down Prince Harry in public!
There was a lot of talk about the Duke of Sussex getting the Pat Tillman Award for his work with the Invictus Games at the 2024 ESPYs last Thursday. He went with his wife Meghan Markle. As Perezcious readers know, Pat’s mom Mary was against ESPN giving the award to the royal, and a lot of fans agreed with her. In the end, the backlash didn’t change anything; Harry still won the award.
Now, though, it looks like the pro tennis player was one of his harshest critics! People cheered for Harry as he walked on stage to accept his award at the award show. But now that I look back, Venus wouldn’t stand or clap for him at first!
It was hard to miss her apparent diss considering she was sitting front row right next to the royal couple, too! Look (below):
When cameras weren’t capturing her in a close-up, she did eventually stand up (briefly) with everyone else. Still, it was hard to ignore her lack of enthusiasm! Taking to X (Twitter) to react, eagle-eyed fans claimed Venus had “shaded” the Spare author, writing:
“Are they still b*** hurt that Venus and that whole front row shaded Harry… the video was even crystal clear”
“Loved seeing Venus giving Harry and Megsie the ‘side eye’… no standing ovation or clapping”
“If Venus didn’t agree with Harry getting the award that was her right not to clap”
“Harry must feel the disgust emanating from Venus”
Over on YouTube, others commented:
“Venus Williams has the right attitude”
“VENUS has many new admirers tonight. It was refreshing to see her stay in her seat and not applaud the fraud named Harry. Now Serena needs to wake up. Way to go Venus!!!”
Meanwhile, others on X accused the Archewell founders of being shady right back, claiming they seemed to be “ghosting” Venus! Someone speculated:
“Has anyone brought up the fact that H and M purposely never noticed Venus sitting to Harry’s direct right?” Their ghosts were both on her.
For the record, Access Hollywood caught Harry talking to Venus at their seats before he left with Meghan and greeted other people there. Even though they didn’t completely ghost her, it was still awkward between them!
BTW, Serena Vensus, the host of the sports awards show, has known the Suits alum for a long time and is friends with her. If Venus was really making fun of them, it makes the jab even more personal. Oh no! Thoughts?! Do YOU think she meant to be sneaky?