Dionne Warwick is having a little too much fun with last’s night controversy at the U.S. Open tournament last night. On Wednesday, Serena Williams participated in her second round at the prestigious tournament, competing against Anett Kontaveit at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.
As expected, the crowd had some major A-listers, including Tiger Woods, Zendaya, Spike Lee, Gigi Hadid, Warwick, and more, present to witness the G.O.A.T do her thing. However, the hugely successful night where Serena beat out Kontaveit to advance to the next round faced a little bump when one of the commentators didn’t recognize Warwick.
U.S. Open Commentator Think Dionne Warwick Is Gladys Knight
In viral clips of the tournament shared online, the commentators were recognizing famous faces in the audience, but when it got to the “Walk On By” singer’s turn, they quite couldn’t place her. The commentator was heard saying, “oh, that’s more stars…Gladys Knight! Hello.”
The dreadful incident was brought to light by an annoyed fan who wrote, “Not the U.S. Open commentators confusing Dionne Warwick with Gladys Knight I am appalled.” Many more fans piled on the U.S Open commentators, bashing them for not correctly identifying the icon that is Warwick. Others slammed them for mixing two renowned African-American singers who look nothing alike.
This pissed netizen wrote, “How the f**k she mistake Dionne Warwick for…..you know what, never mind 🤦🏽♂️,” while another advised, “#USOpen Hopefully, you hire new people who know the difference between Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight.
This comment read, “So these commentators can pronounce the weird ass names these white tennis players got but not tell the difference between Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight? Shame,” while another read, “Ain’t no way you confuse Dionne Warwick & Gladys Knight .. this made my head hurt…”
Even musician QuestLove commented on the topic. He reposted the video on his Instagram page with the caption, Not like this 😑😑😑😑😑😑. Dionne Warwick people!!!!! DIONNE WARWICK!!!!! @therealdionnew.
The ‘Heartbreaker’ Songstress Addresses U.S. Open’s Mistake
Other fans, however, believed it was a simple mistake, suggesting that Gladys Knight was also in attendance at the tournament, but she wasn’t sitting close to Warwick’s location. One fan suggested, “Gladys was also there. They probably had a list to read off. Lol.”
Chadin Rubin, the guilty commentator who made the mistake, also came online to clear the air, saying it was the monitor that quickly panned towards Warwick’s side. She wrote, “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 🤦🏽♀️.”
Not the U.S. Open commentators confusing Dionne Warwick with Gladys Knight
I am appalled. pic.twitter.com/111heWtUJR
— Lex 👑 (@AlexJ_Live) September 1, 2022
Despite the reactions to the error, the “Sold Gold” alum isn’t too bothered. She broke her silence on the matter with a hilarious tweet, using titles of her songs and Knight’s songs — even adding Aretha Franklin to the mix.
The 81-year-old legendary vocalist wrote, “Hi, I’m Gladys Knight… and instead of taking that midnight train to Georgia, I won’t walk on by but will say a little prayer for you 😂 😐.” The tweet has since garnered over 19,000 likes with fans praising Warwick for her unique sense of humor.
One fan wrote, “They don’t know any better, Auntie. The shame they feel today should set them straight,” while this netizen added, “Love your sense of humor. Don’t understand how two of the most beautiful voices on the planet could be confused. #DionneWarwick and #GladysKnight – That’s What Friends Are For.”
Hi, I’m Gladys Knight… and instead of taking that midnight train to Georgia, I won’t walk on by but will say a little prayer for you 😂😐
— Dionne Warwick (@dionnewarwick) September 1, 2022
This isn’t the first time there has been a misidentification of black stars during the U.S. Open tournament. Earlier this week, during Serena’s first match, where she defeated Danka Kovinic, actress Laverne Cox was mistaken for Beyoncé — but this time, it was fans who made the error.
The “Orange Is The New Black” star donned a black sheer top, brown leather pants, and hoop earrings, covering up her face with a black face mask. Cox’s curly hair had fans online thinking she was Queen B and the Hollywood star had a lot of fun with the error.
She addressed the saga in an Instagram post, writing, “Not me getting mistaken for @Beyonce at the #USOpen tonight then trending on Twitter as the internet cackles over the mistaken identity. These tweets are funny as hell. Enjoy!!!”