U.S. Open
While Serena Williams continued to shock the world with her incredible play at the U.S. Open, TV announcers showed celebs who came out to support the G.O.A.T., including Gladys Knight — the only problem — broadcasters mistook the “Empress of Soul” for Dionne Warwick!
And, it was just as cringe as it sounds.
Mary Carillo and Chanda Rubin were behind the mic for ESPN … when during the third game of the first set, two women appeared on screen between points.
Chanda: Got some more stars …
Mary: Gladys Knight …
Chanda: Gladys Knight …
Mary: Hello!
The problem … it wasn’t Knight, but 5-time Grammy Award winner and fellow legend, Dionne Warwick.
Shortly after the match, Chanda went to social media to explain what happened during the flub.
“Too bad I was initially looking at the court (where Auntie Gladys was in the stands) and not our program monitor that showed Ms. Dionne… mistake was immediately corrected.🤦🏽♀️,” the former player-turned-broadcaster clarified.
In fairness, Gladys was actually in the building … but she was seated in a different location.
It wasn’t the first time a star has been mistaken for another celeb during this year’s U.S. Open. During Serena’s first-round match, a short video posted online went viral after the poster confused actress and advocate Laverne Cox for Beyonce.
On Wednesday, there were a ton of other stars in the building, too … including Tiger Woods, Gigi & Bella Hadid, Spike Lee, Anna Wintour, Seal, La La Anthony and many more.
They were all in the building to watch Serena … who after winning on Monday, went on to defeat #2 seed Anett Kontaveit. Williams now advances to the third round, where she’ll face Ajla Tomljanović.
As for the flub, neither Dionne or Gladys have addressed it.