A five-star Paris restaurant has hit back at Serena Williams after she claimed she and her daughter were refused entry despite it being completely empty.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner took to X to publicly complain about the treatment she 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.
‘Dear Mrs. Williams, Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight,’ the Peninsula team wrote.
‘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.
Serena Williams and her daughter, Olympia, were denied access to hotel in Paris on Monday. Pictured: Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian and their daughter Adira River attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at the Trocadero on July 26, 2024
The Peninsula Hotel apologized to the tennis star just two hours after she posted her gripe on X. Pictured: : A general view of the dining room during the Amfar Gala At The Peninsula Hotel In Paris on June 30, 2019
The five-star rated Paris Peninsula hotel claimed they were fully booked at the time
‘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’.
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’.
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’.
Fans flocked to support the star while others claimed she was being ‘entitled’
Pictured: Serena Williams and her daughter Olympia Ohanian attend the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Team Final during day four of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris Arena on July 30, 2024
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.
