Serena Williams has called out The New York Times after it published a print article about her accompanied by an image of her sister Venus Williams.“No matter how far we come, we get reminded that it’s not enough,” the worldwide tennis legend wrote. The Times article was about Williams’ early-stage venture capital firm, which has raised an initial fund of $111 million to invest in companies with diverse founders.“This is why I raised $111M for [Serena Ventures],” she tweeted at the Times. “To support the founders who are overlooked by engrained systems woefully unaware of their biases.“Because even I am overlooked. You can do better.”No matter how far we come, we get reminded that it’s not enough. This is why I raised $111M for @serenaventures. To support the founders who are overlooked by engrained systems woefully unaware of their biases. Because even I am overlooked. You can do better, @nytimes. pic.twitter.com/hvfCl5WUoz— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) March 2, 2022
The Times said in the replies that it was a mistake.“It was due to an error when selecting photos for the print edition, and it did not appear online. A correction will appear in tomorrow’s paper,” it wrote.Williams’ husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, observed, “I’ve never had my photo swapped for another white dude,” adding that “you’d think they’d know” Venus from Serena Williams after 20 years.News outlets and high-profile figures have repeatedly been called out for mixing up Black people when posting images. Several lawmakers faced criticism in 2020 when they used a picture of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings to honor Rep. John Lewis after his death. In 2018, Fox News accidentally used an image of singer Patti LaBelle in its tribute to Aretha Franklin. And in 2014, actor Samuel L. Jackson lambasted a reporter who mistook him for fellow movie star Laurence Fishburne during an interview.