“My road warrior story”: Venus Williams tells Serena Williams about confronting ‘mean’ passenger who disrupted her mid-air chat with actress Pam Grier

Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Pam Grier - Image Source: Getty Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Pam Grier – Image Source: Getty

Venus Williams has shared an interesting airport story with Serena Williams in their latest podcast. The former dealt with a mean passenger during her interaction with popular American actress Pam Grier.

Williams was last seen in action at the US Open, where she reached the first round. Despite a spirited performance against Karolina Muchova, the Czech defeated her in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.

The American dealt with a fussy passenger during her in-flight interaction with Pam Grier. Here’s what she said during the latest episode of the Stockton Street podcast to her sister:

“I remember one time I was in the airport and I saw Pam Grier on the plane and I’m a big fan of her, love her and Jackie Brown, and I just couldn’t believe it. So I was going back to West Palm, apparently, she loves horses,” Venus Williams said (6:20 – 9:00)

“And she was like in Wellington, you know, in West Palm where there’s a big horse community. I think she’s in Colorado or Wyoming or something, I don’t know. I haven’t checked up on her lately, but I went over to her seat and I was like, oh my God, like I’m such a big fan,” she added (6:20 – 9:00)

Pam Grier is an American actress born on May 26, 1949. She rose to fame in the 1970s, starring in groundbreaking movies like “Coffy” (1973) and “Foxy Brown” (1974).

The flight interaction between Williams and Grier was filled with drama. The former World No. 1 found herself managing a rude passenger sitting beside the actress

“I never go up to anyone, right? But I love her. And then there was a guy who came and he was like, this is my seat, you know, you’re like in the way. So I went around to the front and I kept talking to her and he’s like, someone might, you know, someone might be sitting there and I ignored him and I finished my conversation,” Venus Williams said

“And then when I was done, I looked at him, I said, Sir, I think you said something before. And if it was important, I didn’t want to miss it. So like, dude, you don’t know who you’re messing with. Like, I’m always going to be nice. I’m never going to be nasty like you, but you’re going to feel the pain,” she added

Williams revealed how her confrontation humbled the rude passenger. She also left the flight attendants in splits, who were troubled by the same person on the flight.

“And he was flabbergasted. He had no idea what to say. And I remember I went to the bathroom like later and the flight attendants were laughing. They were like, oh, we saw that guy was so mean and he was mean to us too. We’re glad you got him. But like, anyway, that’s my road warrior story. I have a lot more because in the airport, people get crazy,” Venus Williams concluded

Venus Williams reached the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles event at the US Open 2025

Williams and Fernandez at the 2025 US Open - Day 10 - Source: GettyWilliams and Fernandez at the 2025 US Open – Day 10 – Source: Getty

Venus Williams is still going strong at the age of 45. She participated at the Citi Open and the US Open this year.

Williams couldn’t make an impact in the singles competition in New York, but reached the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles event alongside Leylah Fernandez. Their run eventually came to an end at the hands of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova.

Interestingly, the American also featured in the mixed doubles event alongside Reilly Opelka. Despite a resilient performance in the first round, they were eliminated by Andrey Rublev and Karolina Muchova in straight sets.