Author: McCarton Ackerman

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Serena Williams is facing racist and sexist backlash just hours after Sports Illustrated announced on Monday that the tennis star is its 2015 “Sportsperson of the Year.” A slew of mean-spirited tweets poking fun at her body type and physical appearance have hit social media, while some have even argued that Triple Crown winner American Pharoah should have been given the honor.

While it’s not uncommon for differing views to be expressed after Sports Illustrated releases its annual “Sportsperson of the Year” cover, the virulent and, at times, vile backlash to Williams seems unprecedented. One Twitter user nastily wrote, “In other news, Serena Williams is a man. A very sexy ape like man.” Another seemingly racist user tweeted a photo of a monkey in a tennis dress, with the caption, “Congrats to Serena Williams on winning #SportsIllustrated sports person of the year!” “That’s a man, baby!” added another hater.

Thankfully, not all of the Twitter comments were negative. Some of Williams’ famous friends, including Kerry Washington and Gabrielle Union, praised her for being the first solo woman to win the honor since 1983. “YES! LOOOOOOOVE. @serenawilliams that @SINow cover is EVERYTHING,” tweeted Washington. Meanwhile, Union mocked tweets that criticized the choice of Williams for “Sportsperson of the Year.”

Serena Williams’ full cover story will appear in the December 21 issue of Sports Illustrated. Check out her “Sportsperson of the Year” cover below, and tell Gossip Cop what you think.

(Sports Illustrated)

(BBC)

Will Tina Fey take on Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live”? She and her Sisters co-star Amy Poehler are set to return this week to “SNL” to host the show, and Fey says spoofing Trump is high on her wish list. See the video below.

Speaking to BBC News, Fey didn’t hold back when asked about the presidential hopeful. She said his comments about women are “not great,” but that they’re ripe for comedy, joking that “I wish I resembled him. I only get to play people when I weirdly look like them.” Still, Fey noted she wouldn’t even know where to begin when spoofing him, since “it’s almost too much to choose from. He’s just gone mental.”

Fey also revealed that she has a connection to Trump because of their children. “Donald Trump and I literally had the same baby nurse,” she said. “And so when I see him, I’m like, ‘Hello, how is the baby?’ It’s a very weird New York thing where you’re like, ‘Oh, this creature from the news is just in the universe.’”

Watch the video below of Tina Fey talking about wanting to play Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live,” and tell Gossip Cop what you think.

(Sports Illustrated)

Serena Williams is the 2015 Sports Illustrated “Sportsperson of the Year,” it was announced on Monday. Check out the magazine cover photo at right!

The world’s No. 1-ranked female tennis player won three Grand Slams in 2015 and came tantalizingly close to capturing the calendar Grand Slam by winning all four majors in the same year, before losing in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. She took the rest of the season off, but admits to Sports Illustrated that the loss took a toll on her. “I didn’t want to necessarily put a fist through a wall — I felt more like, Ah, man, I was so close,” she says. “I’ll always think about what I could have done better… it’s not anger. It’s analyzing: What can I do next time?”

Williams also talks about her role as an activist both on and off the court. She made headlines this year by competing at the tournament in Indian Wells for the first time in 14 years, even though she previously vowed to never return after being mercilessly booed by the crowd in the 2001 finals and her father alleging that fans yelled racial slurs at him. “That was hard for me to go through — especially when I was thinking, ‘It’s 2001… Now fast-forward to 2015, and we still have young black men being killed,’” she reflects. “Someone needed to do something. And I thought then that there was something greater than me and tennis. I needed to go back there and speak out against racism.”

The tennis star’s full cover story is set appear in the Sports Illustrated December 21 issue. Tell Gossip Cop what you think of Williams being selected as the 2015 “Sportsperson of the Year.”