A five-star Paris restaurant has hit back at Serena Williams after she claimed she and her children were refused entry despite it being completely empty.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner took to X to publicly complain about the treatment she and received at The Peninsula Hotel on Monday after being ‘denied access to the rooftop to eat’.
After posting a snap of the luxury establishment alongside her gripe, the restaurant clapped back just two hours later on X in response to the complaint.
‘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,’ the Peninsula team posted on X.
The restaurant added: ‘Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight … We have always been honored to welcome you and will always be to welcome you again. The Peninsula Paris.’
Williams’ fans were quick to rip the hotel for rejecting the tennis legend as one X user asked: ‘How does one get denied when they are Serena Williams…… lol’
‘Glad you didn’t have to waste money there,’ another fan pointed out.
‘You’re better off not going, their food is subpar — I’ve unfortunately had to pay for it quite a few times,’ someone else said.
‘It’s Serena Williams – you make a table for her!,’ a fourth commented.
It came after the tennis legend shared her annoyance following the treatment in a message that read: ‘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.’
But not all social media users flocked to take the star’s side, with some people claiming her attitude was ‘entitled’ and ‘about privilege’.
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.— The Peninsula Paris (@peninsulaparis) August 5, 2024
One X user said: ‘Wait are we really telling this place that because she’s a celebrity they should have figured it out? No. If they’re booked, they’re booked and it’s entitled as heck to be upset that they didn’t figure it out because “I’m special.”
Another chimed in: ‘I love the people in here saying she deserved special treatment and should have gotten a table in a place that was fully booked. Jesus Christ, talk about privilege, lol’.
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
One more added:’There is literally nothing more entitled than walking into @peninsulaparis during tourist and the Olympics, expecting a table to be ready for you’.
Williams has attended several Olympic disciplines with her six-year-old daughter, Olympia, and her family in Paris.
She was also among several high-profile names to be part of the Games’ opening ceremony on July 26, as she shared a boat with Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci.
Williams described the ceremony as ‘unforgettable.’
‘From being part of an amazing Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics-to riding in the boat in the rain-and it was pouring! So much so my lashes came right on off,’ she joked on X.
On top of her Grand Slam victories, Williams has four Olympic gold medals to her name, including in both singles and doubles in London in 2012.
