Serena Williams knows how to kick off an awards show! As this year’s emcee for the 2024 ESPY Awards, the tennis champion, 42, opened the ceremony by referencing some of the biggest stories in entertainment and sports.
Williams came onto the stage after Ciara opened the show with an epic performance of her greatest hits.
“I know a lot of congratulations are in order tonight,” Williams began her monologue before referencing the singer’s husband, saying, “but I think I’ll start by congratulating Russell Wilson, because, dang!”
The tennis legend continued by congratulating the Kansas City Chiefs on their Super Bowl win, quipping of Travis Kelce, “Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift‘s boyfriend won a Super Bowl.”
Williams’ next target was LeBron James‘ son, Bronny James, who will join his dad on the basketball court next season after being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I hope Bronny has a long career, so long that we will see his hairline recede and then miraculously un-recede like his dad,” Williams joked.
Then came Williams’ comment on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars just before he accepted an award for portraying the tennis great’s dad in King Richard.
“Being a professional athlete is truly a dream come true. I was lucky enough to do it with my family,” Williams said. “My dad was my coach, my sister was my partner. It all went so well that they made a movie about it. Will Smith played my dad. He was so good in it he won an Oscar after slapping Chris Rock. I was like, ‘Dang, Will, you’ve got to come out of character.'”
Williams went on to note that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in the house, telling the Duke of Duchess of Sussex, “Please, Harry and Meghan, try not breathe too much tonight because this is my night, and I don’t want to be overshadowed by the accusations that you guys are taking up too much oxygen.”
Williams ended her monologue by addressing the kids who were tuning into the show.
“Get up, get off the TikTok, work hard, find out how capable you are. Be great. Be so great they don’t want to believe in you and then be even greater,” she said, before joking of the ongoing rap beef between Kendrick Lamaar and Drake, “After all of that, after all of that, still don’t pick a fight with Kendrick [Lamar].”
As sports fans have come to expect, this year’s ESPYs were attended by some of the best athletes in the game — including the recently crowned NBA champion Boston Celtics and the repeat-Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs were a lock for another Best Team nomination this year after winning another ring at Super Bowl LVIII. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes also earned a nod for Best Male Athlete.
Other top nominees this year included Clark, Ohtani, Simone Biles, Jaylen Brown and Coco Gauff.
New Orleans Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum was also nominated for the 10th annual Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award at the 2024 ceremony for his work in criminal justice reform and youth programs in New Orleans.
Even British royalty got on the list for this year’s ESPY Awards. In June, it was announced that Prince Harry would receive one of the three highest honors of the evening, the Pat Tillman Award for service.
According to a release, the Duke of Sussex was presented with the award “in honor of his tireless work in making a positive impact for the veteran community through the power of sport.”
The ESPYs recognized the work that Harry has done for the last 10 years with his Invictus Games competition, which has allowed veterans with both visible and invisible injuries from various countries to compete in Olympic-level athletic competitions.
Like Tillman, Harry himself is a veteran, who served in the British Armed Forces as a forward air controller and Apache helicopter pilot. During his time in the military, Harry also did two tours of duty in Afghanistan.
Past recipients of the Pat Tillman Award include the Buffalo Bills training staff (who worked to save the life of safety Damar Hamlin after he suffered cardiac arrest), Gretchen Evans and Chris Wood.
The ESPYs will also award Coach Dawn Staley with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance and Steve Gleason will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.
The 2024 ESPYs air live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 11, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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