Serena Williams Calls Out Parisian Restaurant for Denying Her and Her Kids Access
One Paris restaurant did not invite Serena Williams to be their guest.
The 42-year-old took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out The Peninsula Paris for allegedly denying her and her kids—Olympia Ohanian, 6, and Adira Ohanian, 12 months—access to dine while she was in France for the 2024 Olympic games.
“Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids,” the tennis pro wrote, sharing a photo of the sign for the luxury hotel. “Always a first. #Olympic2024.”
A rep for The Peninsula Paris released a statement to E! News in response to Serena’s claims noting the company has “the utmost admiration and respect” for the Olympian.
“We can only reiterate our deepest apologies for her perception of tonight’s situation,” the statement read. “Today, August 5th, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked, and the only unoccupied tables at that time belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was also fully reserved tonight.”
The hotel added that Serena and her family have always been “more than welcome” at the establishment.
Serena and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, have been taking in a variety of the Olympic games over the past few weeks, occasionally bringing their daughter Olympia to partake in the fun.
The professional athlete has taken home four Olympic gold medals of her own and even got the honor of riding on the rain-soaked boats in this year’s opening ceremony on the Seine River.
Prior to the hotel incident, Serena celebrated being in Paris on Instagram, writing, “Soooo excited to be at the Opening Ceremony and in my favorite city…Paris! #Paris2024.”
Serena has been particularly invested in cheering on the Team USA women’s gymnasts Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, previously telling the team, “I am loving every minute of watching you be GREAT.”
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