At Sunday night’s Critics Choice Awards, Jane Campion took home yet another trophy for The Power Of The Dog. She beat out the competition and won Best Director, further marking a path for her to win at the Academy Awards. However, a statement Campion aimed towards Venus and Serena Williams, during her acceptance speech sparked backlash from audiences.
In her speech, Campion started off by recognizing all the “incredible women” in the event venue that night. “Halle Berry, you have already done my speech… and really killed it. I loved it. You’re absolutely brilliant,” said Campion to the night’s SeeHer award recipient.
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Then Campion moved on to King Richard executive producers and tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams. “What an honor to be in the room with you,” Campion said to the sisters at first, “I’ve taken up tennis—I truly have—and Will [Smith], if you want to come over and give me lessons, I would truly love it. I actually had to stop playing because I’ve got tennis elbow.”
After taking a moment to send her love to the other directors in the category or “the guys” as Campion coined them, she once again mentioned the Williams sisters before leaving the stage.
“Venus and Serena, you’re such marvels,” she remarked. “However, you don’t play against the guys, like I have to.”
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Although given uproarious applause by the Critic’s Choice Awards crowd (with even Serena clapping heavily), many people online viewed the comment as odd and undercutting of the Williams sisters’ achievements in the world of tennis, especially since the two tennis players have played men in mixed doubles and won multiple times.
Twitter users (many of them other Black women) brought up how confusing the statement was, due to both of the Williams sisters’ many accounts of facing sexism and racism within the sport—something highlighted in the Oscar-nominated film King Richard.
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In statement released this afternoon, Campion apologized to the Williams sisters saying, “I made a thoughtless comment equating what I do in the film world with all that Serena Williams and Venus Williams have achieved. I did not intend to devalue these two legendary Black women and world-class athletes.”
She added, “The fact is the Williams sisters have, actually, squared off against men on the court (and off), and they have both raised the bar and opened doors for what is possible for women in this world. The last thing I would ever want to do is minimize remarkable women. I love Serena and Venus. Their accomplishments are titanic and inspiring. Serena and Venus, I apologize and completely celebrate you.”
