The Grand Slam champion slammed his royal friends, but it was all a joke.
Serena Williams mocked friends Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the 2024 ESPY Awards on Thursday night, accusing them of overshadowing her appearance at the event.
The tennis legend hosted the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where Harry received the Pat Tillman Lifetime Achievement Award.
Williams took to the stage and informed the crowd that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in the audience, before saying: “Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, please try not to breathe too much tonight.”
“Tonight is my night. I don’t want it to be overshadowed by accusations that you guys are consuming too much oxygen,” she further quipped.
Prince Harry and Markle were seen smiling after Williams’ comments and seemed unbothered by the joke.
Markle has been friends with Williams for many years and attended the couple’s royal wedding in 2018.
Later that evening, they posed alongside the tennis superstars on the awards ceremony’s red carpet.
Then later in the night, Harry took to the stage to receive the Pat Tillman Award in recognition of his military experience and work at the Invictus Games.
The award is named after former NFL player Pat Tillman, who joined the U.S. military after 9/11 and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004.
Many people, including Tillman’s mother, Mary Tillman, opposed Prince being nominated for the award.
“I’m surprised why they chose such a controversial and divisive person as the recipient,” she said. He told the Daily Mail The winners were announced last month. “There are more deserving recipients. There are people who are active in the veteran community and doing great things to support veterans.”
Harry was rumored to have considered turning down the coveted award, but ultimately decided to accept it.
