Serena Williams expresses support for Meghan Markle

Tennis star Serena Williams expressed support for Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex after her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in which she said there were conversations in the royal family about how dark her unborn son’s skin might be.

“Meghan Markle, my selfless friend, lives her life – and leads by example – with empathy and compassion,” Williams wrote in a tweet on Sunday evening. “She teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble. Her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she’s experienced.”

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— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) March 8, 2021

In the interview that aired Sunday evening on CBS, the former Meghan Markle, 39, told Winfrey that the conversations about her unborn child’s skin color came at the same time she was informed that her son would not be given a royal title or a security detail — a break from protocol. She gave birth to son Archie in May 2019.

When asked by Winfrey if race played a factor in the decision to withhold a “prince” title from her son, Meghan replied “I wasn’t able to follow up with why,” and added, “but if that’s the assumption you’re making, I feel like it’s a pretty safe one.”

Williams sympathized with the racism Meghan faced, writing, “I know first hand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of color to minimize us, to break us down and demonize us. We must recognize our obligation to decry malicious, unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism.”

She later continued, “I want Meghan’s daughter, my daughter and your daughter to live in a society that is driven by respect.”

Meghan also described the loneliness and isolation she felt as a British royal, explaining that at one point she thought, “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”

Williams addressed these comments in her statement, writing, “The mental health consequences of systematic oppression and victimization are devastating, isolating and all too often lethal.”

She continued, “Keep in your memory the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.”