Serena Williams Calls Out Parisian Restaurant for Denying Her and Her Kids Access

Serena Williams accused a luxury Paris hotel of turning her and her kids away from their rooftop bar, and they responded to the claims. 

By Rachel McRady Aug 06, 2024 9:58 AM
| Updated Aug 06, 2024 5:11 PM
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Watch: Serena Williams Accuses Paris Restaurant of DENYING Her Family Service

One Paris restaurant did not invite Serena Williams to be their guest.

The 42-year-old took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out The Peninsula Paris for allegedly denying her and her kids—Olympia Ohanian, 6, and Adira Ohanian, 12 months—access to dine while she was in France for the 2024 Olympic games.

“Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids,” the tennis pro wrote, sharing a photo of the sign for the luxury hotel. “Always a first. #Olympic2024.”

A rep for The Peninsula Paris released a statement to E! News in response to Serena’s claims noting the company has “the utmost admiration and respect” for the Olympian.

“We can only reiterate our deepest apologies for her perception of tonight’s situation,” the statement read. “Today, August 5th, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked, and the only unoccupied tables at that time belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was also fully reserved tonight.”

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The hotel added that Serena and her family have always been “more than welcome” at the establishment.

Serena and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, have been taking in a variety of the Olympic games over the past few weeks, occasionally bringing their daughter Olympia to partake in the fun.

The professional athlete has taken home four Olympic gold medals of her own and even got the honor of riding on the rain-soaked boats in this year’s opening ceremony on the Seine River.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Prior to the hotel incident, Serena celebrated being in Paris on Instagram, writing, “Soooo excited to be at the Opening Ceremony and in my favorite city…Paris! #Paris2024.”

Serena has been particularly invested in cheering on the Team USA women’s gymnasts Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, previously telling the team, “I am loving every minute of watching you be GREAT.”

For more stars at the 2024 Paris Olympics, read on. 

Mick Jagger

Sweet sounds of heaven: The rocker took in the festivities while at the Stade de France.

Quavo

The musician proved he was the one while attending the Men's Basketball semi-final match in Paris.

Gabrielle Union

Only one can play that game: The stylish actress stepped out for a daytime stroll.

Emma Roberts

The American Horror Story star rocked a "USA" polo and red Ralph Lauren baseball cap while attending the Games. 

Travis Scott, Quavo and Michael Rubin

The "goosebumps" rapper, Migos member and Fanatics CEO showed out for the semi-final basketball game between Serbia and the United States. 

Tom Brady and Vivian Brady

The father-daughter duo vaulted onto the scene for a gymnastics match.

Sharon Stone

The Basic Instinct actress looked on during the men's singles final match in tennis.

Eva Mendes & Ryan Gosling

The two made a rare public appearance at the Paris Olympics on day 9, attending a few events, including the Equestrian Dressage Individual Grand Prix Freestyle.

Guy Fieri, Lori Fieri, John Travolta & Ella Bleu Travolta

Welcome to Olympic Flavortown: The Food Network star and his wife sat with the Grease actor and his daughter and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav at the men's singles tennis gold medal match between Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Serbia's Novak Djokovic.

Devin Booker

The NBA star hit a stride while out in the City of Lights.

Kendall Jenner

Th Kardashians star kept up with the athletic events while in Paris.

Kylie Kelce, Aly Raisman & Jason Kelce

We're flipping over the Kelces' pic with the Olympic gymnast.

Serena Williams & Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr.

The tennis star and her mini-me aced their appearance at the Women's Gymnastics Team Final.

Princess Anne

The royal made a regal appearance at Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Spike Lee

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Michael Phelps

The Olympian and his wife Nicole Johnson took their 6-month-old son Nico to the women's gymnastics team final.

Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban

The couple attended the gymnastics final with daughters Sunday and Faith.

Natalie Portman

The Thor star had a marvelous time while watching the women's gymnastics team final.

Queen Latifah

The actress displayed a little U-N-I-T-Y when cheering in the stands.

Ed Sheeran

Dive right in and follow the singer's lead by taking in the best Olympic moments.

Bill Gates & Paula Hurd

The Microsoft co-founder took his girlfriend to a match at Roland-Garros in Paris.

Sarah Jessica Parker & Jennifer Hudson

"Look who I ran into in Paris !!" Jennifer captioned the pic. "Carrie and Louise reunited at last! Love is the thing, you know! #SATC."

Jessica Chastain

The Help star supported Team USA while watching the women's gymnastics qualifying rounds.

Emma Chamberlain & Peter McPoland

The influencer and singer looked close as they sat in the stands for women's gymnastics.

Colin Jost

The Saturday Night Live star covered Olympic Surfing for NBC as events take place in Tahiti.

Shaun White & Nina Dobrev

The pair made sure to lock in while in the stands for the Gymnastics Qualifiers.

Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Lena Waithe

These three made a wickedly good trio while at the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Qualification event.

Lebron James

The NBA star was front and center on the court during day two of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Tom Cruise

The actor took pics with fans while watching the women's gymnastics qualifiers.

Lady Gaga

The singer praised Simone Biles on Instagram over her balance beam routine.

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