Tennis player Serena Williams criticized The New York Times after the newspaper printed an incorrect photo.
In an article about Serena Williams’ new capital venture fund, instead of printing a photo of her, the Times published a photo of her sister, Venus Williams.
Serena Williams responded in a tweet, saying, “No matter how far we come, we get reminded that it’s not enough. This is why I raised $111M for [Serena Ventures]. To support the founders who are overlooked by engrained systems woefully unaware of their biases. Because even I am overlooked. You can do better [NY Times].”
The Times responded, “This was our 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.”
This was our 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.
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) March 2, 2022
On Tuesday, the Times reported Serena Williams raised an inaugural fund of $111 million to “invest in founders with diverse points of view.”
Serena Williams said, “I’ve always been fascinated with technology, and I’ve always loved how it really shapes our lives.”
She added, “When I met my husband, that was our first conversation. That’s how we met. I was talking about investments.”
According to the newspaper, Serena Williams was inspired by a conversation between Caryn Seidman-Becker, the chief executive of the security company Clear, and Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase.
The Times noted Seidman-Becker said during an event that less than two percent of venture money was granted to women.
“I go up to her afterward and asked, ‘Tell me about this 2 percent — I know maybe you misspoke,'” Serena Williams said.
She continued, “And she says, ‘No, it’s true.’ And I literally couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that 98 percent of all of this money we’re talking about — billions of dollars — goes to one type of individual.”