Serena Williams Has Zero Time For Judgment About Her Sex Appeal

Serena Williams has been dealing with comments about her body since she was just 17 years old. Somehow, she’s developed the ability to tune it all out.

“People have been talking about my body for a really long time. Good things, great things, negative things,” Williams told Fader for her Oct./Nov. cover story interview.

She went on to speak about the importance of self-love in the face of other people’s judgments:

People are entitled to have their opinions, but what matters most is how I feel about me … That’s the message I try to tell other women and in particular young girls. You have to love you, and if you don’t love you no one else will. And if you do love you, people will see that and they’ll love you too. 

Fader

Beyoncé asked Williams to appear in her visual album “Lemonade” because the tennis star personifies strength. In “Lemonade” Williams owned her sexuality like the queen she is, twirling on her haters.  

“Yeah, you know, it was ‘she’s too strong,’ and then ‘she’s too sexy,’ and then ‘she’s too strong’ again,” Williams said. “So I’m like, ‘Well, can you choose one?’ But either way, I don’t care which one they choose. I’m me and I’ve never changed who I am.”

?? ? ?? #FADERAMERICA Hit the bio link for our @serenawilliams cover story. Styling by @shibonleigh, photo by @jodyrogac for The FADER.

A photo posted by The FADER (@thefader) on Oct 4, 2016 at 8:35am PDT

There’s never been a @SerenaWilliams before Serena Williams. #FADERAMERICA Head to TheFADER.com for the whole story. Styling by @shibonleigh, photo by @jodyrogac for The FADER.

A photo posted by The FADER (@thefader) on Oct 4, 2016 at 9:39am PDT

In a world where people often confine what they think women are capable of, there are no limits to how much winning @serenawilliams can do. Head to TheFADER.com for the whole story. Styling by @shibonleigh, photo by @jodyrogac for The FADER.

A photo posted by The FADER (@thefader) on Oct 4, 2016 at 9:27am PDT