Serena Williams shared her discomfort after discovering a decorative cotton plant in a New York City hotel.
“Alright, everyone. How do we feel about cotton as decoration?” she asked fans via Instagram Stories on Thursday, while walking toward the plant in a hallway.
She added, “Personally for me, it doesn’t feel great.” In another slide, she plucked a cotton ball off a branch and took it to her thumbnail, stating that it “feels like nail polish remover cotton.”
The tennis great, 43, visibly shuddered before walking off camera.
Williams was in New York to support Kim Kardashian’s Skims/Nike collab launch — its unclear which hotel she was staying at.
A rep for Williams did not immediately return Page Six’s request for further comment.
Williams’ uncomfortable moment comes amid social media backlash over the athlete’s partnership with GLP-1 medicine company Ro.
In a promotional clip shared by the company in August, she seemingly injected herself with the weight loss medication, which she claimed her body “needed” after welcoming two children. “Just like I always have, I’m making informed choices for my health and my body,” the joint post’s caption read.
Some followers in the comments thread reacted with disappointment.
“‘After kids this is the medicine my body needed.’ Needed? Fantastic, now we can undo all the progression we made on letting women know its ok to take time, recover and get back in shape or not to,” wrote one follower.
“As an athlete and an influencer, it’s a shame that you’re reiterating the narrative that you need to take medication to be healthy and achieve an acceptable standard of beauty,” remarked another.
“disappointed” by her partnership with GLP-1 medicine company Ro. Instagram/serenawilliams
“This video made me really sad and disappointed.”
“What Serena is really saying here: it doesn’t matter how successful, powerful, or strong you are — if you’re not thin, it doesn’t matter. That’s so sad,” a third chimed in.
Williams revealed she’s the latest celebrity to utilize GLP-1 weight-loss drugs in an August interview with People.
“I feel great,” she told the outlet amid her dramatic weight loss transformation. “I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally.”
