Serena Williams & Venus Williams give honest answers about how accurate ‘King Richard’ biopic about their father Richard really was

Serena Williams and Venus Williams - Source: gettySerena Williams and Venus Williams – Source: Getty

Serena Williams and Venus Williams shared their honest opinions about how real the ‘King Richard’ biopic about their father really was. The biopic about Richard Williams was released on November 19, 2021.

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard was about the Williams sisters’ father and his crucial role in building his daughters’ tennis careers. Both sisters have spoken about the biopic in several interviews, and now they discussed it on their new podcast called ‘Stockton Street.’

Highlighting how accurate the biopic actually was, the two sisters connected some of the moments from the biopic and their real lives.

“Let’s talk about the film King Richard, cause we get, I get so many questions of was it real and I’m like it was so real and I think people ask that cause the story is so kind of Hollywood. But also so many elements that are just different right,” said Venus Williams.

Venus and Serena Williams' Father Richard in 'On the Line': Trailer

Replying to it, the former tennis player said:

“So, let’s break this down. There is a lot of things on King Richard that was real. I would say 98.90% of it, maybe more.”

They went on to discuss the subtle differences between what truly happened and what the biopic portrayed.

Venus- “Some things were maybe taken out of a little bit of order, like maybe one thing happened maybe a little later or something like that. But for the most part it was just in like when you entered your own self in the tournament coz daddy wouldn’t let you play.”

Serena – “Yes, that was very real.

Venus- “I think the difference in the story is that someone says your other daughter’s playing, but what happened was we got to the tournament, they’re like she entered and daddy had to write a check, so he didn’t then, he let you play. Yeah, so it was a little bit different, but it was like 100% true. You got tired. You know filled out the card, sent it in, and you decided you were I don’t know which tournament to fill in.”

Serena Williams jokingly blamed her father for forcing her to pursue tennis over gymnastics in one of the episodes of her podcast.

When Serena Williams made her feelings known about King Richard’s six Oscar nominations

In 2022, Serena Williams sat for a conversation with the Associated Press, where she opened up about King Richard receiving six Oscar nominations. The biopic got nominated for the Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing Awards.

In addition, Will Smith, who played the role of the Williams sisters’ father in the film, got nominated for Best Actor, and Aunjanue Ellis, who acted as the mother of the players, was selected for Best Supporting Actress.

Even Beyoncé’s ‘Be Alive’ track, which was included in the film, also got nominated for Best Original Song. Talking about these nominations in the interview, Williams said:

“It’s surreal because when we set out to make this movie three years ago, you always hope, you know, that you’ll win an oscar or you’ll be oscar-nominated. Just to be nominated is so huge,” Serena Williams said.

Serena Williams started her tennis career at the age of 14 in 1995 and retired from the sport in September 2022. Her last appearance on the court was at the US Open.