Source: Alan Silfen / Red Table Talk
Will Smith sat down with tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams on the latest episode of Red Table Talk in preparation for the release of the new movie King Richard.
In the film, Will depicts Venus and Serena’s tenacious and determined father, Richard Williams. Through struggles and successes, Richard fought to help his tennis-playing daughters make it to the upper echelon of their sport.
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Later, the tennis icons’ mother and sisters join the episode for their very first appearance as a family. The Williams chatted with Will about how their mother also played a significant role in helping them make it to where they are today.
“My dad at one point was working and then he stopped,” Serena explained. “He’s like this is what we’re going to do: ‘I’m not going to have a job and I’m going to go with Venus and Serena and train them everyday.'”
“Now that would be impossible for me if my husband [Alexis Ohanian Jr.] were to tell me that. I’d be like ‘Well I’ve kind of been working my whole life, I’m trying to relax a little bit,'” Serena noted. Speaking of her mother Oracene Price’s strength as she and her siblings grew up, Serena added, “She had to support seven people — it was a family of seven. And so to have that faith and to have that backend support — we wouldn’t have survived without that.”
“My mom was really the guiding force, and you can see that with her words — they’re wise and full of fun,” Venus said with a chuckle. “They’re fun and she’s very witty.”
Throughout the episode, Will, Venus, Serena and the rest of the gang unpacked other “lessons, losses, wisdom, and wins” from behind-the-scenes stories of King Richard. Viewers also got star-studded surprises from other famous fans of the tennis-playing dup, including Simone Biles, Coco Gauff, Naomi Campbell and more.
Executively produced by Venus and Serena, King Richard premieres in theaters and via HBO Max on Nov. 19. Watch the latest episode of Red Table Talk here.
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