Jane Campion Apologizes for Venus and Serena Call Out

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Receiving accolades for her film The Power of the Dog, Campion started strong thanking fellow nominees, before addressing the tennis stars who were in attendance for King Richard, a screenplay based on their lives, saying, "Venus and Serena, you're such marvels. However, you don't play against the guys, like I have to."

Social media was quick to swoop in, finding Campion’s quippy comments about the Williams sisters unnecessary, dismissive — and all too familiar.

We’ve all worked with or for a Jane Campion. pic.twitter.com/iCYsaFN5Sy

— Kimberly Drew (@museummammy) March 14, 2022

Fashion editor Gabrielle Karefa-Johnson remarked in an Instagram story that she was “0% surprised” by the unnecessary comment. “I’m so tired of black women being the butt of people’s jokes... some people will literally use any occasion to bring us down.”

Others, like director Ava Duvernay, hinted that Campion’s comment ignored Serena and Venus’ dedication to the women’s equity movement.

Did you know that in the mid-2000s Venus Williams battled Wimbledon for women to have equal prize money as male players? She even lobbied British Parliament. She won. In 2013, I made a doc about her quiet activism called VENUS VS. Think it’s on @hulu now. pic.twitter.com/LK8pgptTX1

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 14, 2022

The comment about the Williams sisters comes off the heels of Campion’s response to Sam Elliot’s criticism of The Power of the Dog. Elliot, who has acted in a series of Westerns, described the film as “homoerotic,” and a “piece of shit.”

Campion retorted, "What can I say? I'm sorry, he was being a little bit of a B-I-T-C-H. Sorry to say it, but he's not a cowboy; he's an actor. The West is a mythic space and there's a lot of room on the range." But her off-handed callout of the Williams invited criticism regarding how intersectional her feminist stance is, begging the question of who there is room for on Campion’s mythic range.

However, Campion backtracked her remarks shortly thereafter, commenting in Variety, “the last thing I would ever want to do is minimize remarkable women. I love Serena and Venus.”

“Their accomplishments are titanic and inspiring," she continued, "Serena and Venus, I apologize and completely celebrate you.” The all-star sisters have yet to respond, and we hope are celebrating the sweeping success of King Richard, for which Will Smith took home Best Actor, adding to the film’s five existing wins.

Photo via Getty/ Stephane Cardinale - Corbis