“Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski became the target of online outrage after she criticized tennis star Serena Williams’ on-court behavior during Saturday’s U.S. Open final loss to Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
“I’m really getting sick of the racial insensitivity,” one commenter wrote after Brzezinski weighed in on the matter Monday, noting the moment Williams threw her racket onto the ground during the match and received one of three penalties from chair umpire Carlos Ramos.
“Personally, I don’t think that’s becoming, whether a man does it or a woman does it,” Brzezinski said.
Some experts said the ump overplayed his hand, meanwhile many online detractors suggested the calls against the African-American tennis pro stemmed from racial insensitivity or even sexism.
But Brzezinski told her co-host Joe Scarborough, “The entire thing was extremely personal. It was about Serena. It was about being apologized to and it just completely blew out of control and, quite frankly, impacted her tennis.”
Brzezinski argued that Williams’ conduct took away from the winner’s “amazing” performance, adding that “Serena [was] incapable of not taking this all personally.”
The moment did not go over well with several viewers, who took to Twitter to slam the “Morning Joe” co-host.
Watch it here:
Here is a sampling of what people are saying online about Brzezinski’s take on Williams’ U.S. Open penalties:
Yikes. Bad take from @morningmika this morning on @serenawilliams – saying she took the sexism “too personally” sounds patronizing and also seems like an awfully privileged place to come from where public career-altering racism/sexism shouldn’t be taken personally #morningjoe
— ★𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕝𝕖𝕪 𝕝𝕪𝕟𝕟★ (@_ashlynn_b) September 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/att_julie/status/1039103607558299648
@morningmika maybe you should have had on Billie Jean King this am. She seems to understand that women should “Know Their Value”. #morningjoe https://t.co/DysoQIN9g3
— Laurie (@laurieCR13) September 10, 2018
#SerenaWilliams is absolutely justified in standing up 4 herself & every young girl in this country who saw it should look up to her in that moment & stand up 4 themselves & not be disciplined by how their suppose to behave in those moments. ~ #MorningJoe ☕ pic.twitter.com/q4PXakV5uf
— 🎬 ⭐️ 📽 (@HollywoodBlvd1) September 10, 2018
I like watching #MorningJoe but I need Mika to be all the way quiet right now about Serena. Unbecoming??…unbelievable. The conversations you have about worth are very different from those of Black women. And y’all have the nerve to bring a white man on to critique her? Bye…
— Samantha Arlene (@SamanthaArlene) September 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/anatdrummond/status/1039101535861579777