Serena Williams dazzles on and off the tennis court, but her recent presence in the star-studded audiences of runway shows during 2024 Paris Fashion Week set off sirens over her appearance.

The sports icon gave birth to her and her husband Alexis Ohanian’s second daughter, Adira, in August. They are also parents to Olympia, 6. Aside from the Grammys in February, the CDFA Fashion Awards and a Vanity Fair x Audemars Piguet event in November, Williams has seldom been photographed dolled up and in her fashion element recently.

Serena Williams defended after critics say her glam Paris Fashion Week look make her nearly unrecognizable. (Photos: Serenawilliams/Instagram.)

However, while abroad and free of mom duties, she attended shows for the likes of Balenciaga, Balmain, and Maison Valentino. While supporting Off-White, a Women’s Wear Daily reporter asked the athletic phenom what the fashion house’s “Black by Popular Demand” theme meant to her.

Williams responded, “Be yourself, own who you are, and just Black is popular. And it’s culture; it’s changing culture. It’s been changing culture for decades.” In the video circulating on social media, the 42-year-old has her honey-blond tresses styled in old Hollywood-esque flowing curls, a touch of pink blush on her cheekbones, and a rosy nude lip.

An X user got ahold of the clip and captioned it, “This is just sad,” which ushered in comments about the 23-time Grand Slam winner’s looks, which to some people seemed altered. “The irony of her saying Black is popular while her melanin is damn near faded away,” read one user’s remarks. Someone else wrote, “lol she said be yourself. While looking like someone else.” A third post asked, “Is it me or is Serena all of a sudden looking Asian?”

A fourth individual picked apart her face with a comment that read, “Funny, though, you can see the skin lightning, the facial plastic surgery augmentation, the nose in particular, etc. Remember the proud little Compton girls with braids and colorful beads?”

The onslaught of criticism moved Serena’s fans to come to her defense, reminding spectators that for years she endured harsh remarks about her face and body not being feminine enough and her hair being too ethnic. “Y’all want her to have gotten plastic surgery so bad. nope sorry her without makeup she has the same features . Just say she looks great and move along,” read one defense.

Several others stated that her complexion likely appeared lighter due to lighting and her makeup, which, to some, appeared to be inspired by Black beauty expert Uche Natori.

“It’s “sad” that y’all bullied this woman for all these decades about her appearance, now… Mfs wanna try it again, after she did what she wanted to do, to make herself feel attractive. Y’all are some weirdos, bruh,” wrote another supporter.

In a 2022 interview with Time, Williams said she was uninterested in trying to mold herself into someone else to appease naysayers. “You don’t let the world decide beauty. … A lot of people feel they’re not pretty or they’re not cute enough because their skin is dark. … I think people could feel my confidence, because I was always told, ‘You look great. Be Black and be proud,’” she told the publication.

Williams has previously faced harsh criticism, in particular, about her skin tone. In 2021, she sparked backlash after posting a photo of herself with a drastic difference in the complexion of her face and body. She ultimately deleted the photo amid accusations of skin bleaching.