Serena Williams questions New York hotel over cotton plant decoration

Serena Williams was in New York for the launch of Kim Kardashian's NikesSKIMS collab. (Photo by NDZ / Star Max / GC Images)

Serena Williams has criticised a New York hotel for displaying a cotton plant in its hallway.

In a video posted to her Instagram story yesterday, the tennis star showed the plant in the hallway of an undisclosed hotel, Page Six reports.

“How do we feel about cotton as decoration?”, she asked her followers, before continuing, “Personally, for me, it doesn’t feel great”.

Williams said the cotton balls felt like "nail polish remover cotton".

In a second story, she picked a ball off the plant, stating that it felt like “nail polish remover cotton”.

Williams, 43, did not explain her reason for objecting to the plant, though the Daily Mail noted the historical connections of cotton with the US slave trade.

She was in New York for the launch of her friend Kim Kardashian’s NikesSKIMS slimwear brand, as commentary continues about Williams’ recent weight loss.

She has lost about 14kg in eight months, helped by the injectable drug Zepbound.

She has partnered with health company Ro to promote the weight-loss medication, which, unlike the diabetic drug Ozempic, is intended specifically for slimming.

Williams told Vogue the commentary around GLP-1 agonist drugs felt unfair. GLP-1s are a class of medications that treat Type 2 diabetes and help with weight management.

“I feel like a lot of people have this stigma on GLP-1s and say things like ‘Oh, lazy people do it,’ or ‘If you’re working hard enough, you don’t need that’.”

But that wasn’t the case for her: “Sometimes you need help. Your story is your story, and it’s okay to make that choice to do it if you want to.”