A staff member at the Paris restaurant allegedly denied access to Serena Williams says the tennis legend was not recognized. The restaurant has since apologized for the incident.
Serena Williams' recent experience at a Paris restaurant has sparked a firestorm of controversy, with the tennis legend alleging that she was denied access to the establishment. A staff member at the restaurant, however, claims that the incident was simply a case of mistaken identity.
Maxime Mannevy, a worker at The Peninsula's rooftop restaurant, told Variety that Williams was with another woman and a stroller when she arrived at the restaurant. Mannevy said she wasn't working at the time, but that her colleague did not recognize Williams and told her to wait downstairs in the bar for a table to become available.
Serena Williams' Paris Restaurant Denial: Staff Member Claims Unrecognition
"My colleague didn’t recognize her and feels terrible, but he told her what he would have told any other client, which is to wait downstairs in the bar for a table to become available," Mannevy said. "That was absolutely nothing personal."
Williams, who was in Paris to take in the Olympics, expressed her disappointment on Instagram, writing: "Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids. Always a first."
Serena Williams' Paris Restaurant Denial: Staff Member Claims Unrecognition
The Peninsula Paris has since apologized for the incident, saying that the restaurant was fully booked and that the only unoccupied tables belonged to the hotel's gourmet restaurant, which was fully reserved.
"Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight," the hotel wrote on Instagram. "Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved."
Serena Williams' Paris Restaurant Denial: Staff Member Claims Unrecognition
"We have always been honored to welcome you and will always be to welcome you again."
Williams has not commented on the restaurant's apology.
