If many of us sat down with our exes, such an exchange would likely be awkward, with hurt feelings being the most that comes from it. But in the case of Common and Serena Williams, sitting down together at a Brooklyn cafe in front of cameras will bring about an intimate conversation on race, gender, sports and fame. Should be good.
We will get to see that conversation play out with The Undefeated In-Depth: Serena with Common.
“We came from Compton. We came from nothing,” Williams told Common in the trailer for the special, which will air on ESPN and WatchESPN this Sunday. “We literally took the globe and shook it, Me and Venus.”
It’s actually a great idea to have Common be the one to sit down with Williams and have her share her story. Despite the pair not being romantically linked, there’s an undeniable level of comfort she has with the rapper that you rarely see her have with journalists. Such comfort allows Williams to be completely open and honest about her journey, including the ugly moments, throughout their conversation.
“I think in the beginning of this journey, I was definitely misunderstood,” Williams said. “We may have said some things that people just couldn’t relate to.”
She also gets real about the hurdles that took longer than expected to clear because of her gender. In the trailer, Common asks her if she thinks it’s “ironic that a Black woman is in the conversation as the greatest athlete ever?” She responds by saying, “I think if I were a man, I would have been in that conversation a long, long time ago.”
You can watch the special on Sunday, December 18 at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN and WatchESPN. In the meantime, check out the trailer below:
