"You have to be joking, all Black people don't look alike" - Fans furious over Serena Williams getting mistaken for sister Venus by media outlet

A prominent media establishment has come under fire for inexplicably mistaking Serena Williams for her elder sister Venus. The tennis legends' fans were appalled after taking notice of the error, and unsurprisingly, aired their shock and anger at the media giant.

The error had to do with an article on a new Serena Williams miniseries. Titled 'In The Arena: Serena Williams', the documentary-style miniseries was announced in May 2023, and after over a year's wait, is ready for its eagerly-awaited launch. The eight-part ESPN+ miniseries will make its debut on Friday, July 10.

The article in question, titled 'Disney Boosts Focus on Women's Sports With Serena Williams Documentary on ESPN+', was written by journalist Brian Steinberg and published by Variety on its website.

While the article's written content faced no criticism, it was the image that it featured that caused the furor. Instead of Serena Williams' picture, it featured her sister Venus Williams.

Fans, understandably furious with the development, lashed out at Variety on X (formerly Twitter). One set of fans ridiculed the media outlet for the high-profile mistake.

"You have to be joking, right?! All Black people don't look alike; even same sisters don't like alike. THIS IS VENUS!!!" a fan commented.

"Absolutely embarrassing failure on their part," wrote one fan.

"There is no excuse for this in 2024. But it shows Variety doesn’t have one Black person working in the creative or editing Department. But they think they don’t need DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion)! This is disgusting," another fan chimed in.

Another set of fans wrote about how the outlet has been guilty of such mistakes in the past as well but continues to make them.

"How many times are they going to do this?? It's been years and they keep doing this," a fan wrote.

"To think that in 2024, with all the success both sisters have achieved over the last decades, they are STILL mistaken for each other is insulting," another fan weighed in.

"Not the first time this happened,", another fan commented.

"Labeled me as Serena Williams in the tournament guide" - Venus Williams on 2015 ASB Classic blunder

Venus Williams (L) and Serena Williams (R) at the 2022 US Open

In January this year, Venus took to Instagram to share a blunder made by the ASB Classic in its tournament guide. On one of the guide's pages, under her name, was a picture of her sister's. However, Venus remembered the goof-up humorously, as she suggested that upon seeing it, she "quickly added 15 Slams" to her resume.

"When the tournament labeled me as Serena Williams in the tournament guide. Quickly added 15 slams to my resume," Venus had captioned her now-disappeared Instagram Story.

Venus has won seven singles titles at Majors, while Serena Williams clinched a record 23 Grand Slam titles in the women's tennis Open Era. The two were a formidable doubles pairing as well, as they triumphed on 14 occasions at Majors and on three occasions at the Olympics, in women's doubles.