Discordant point! During Serena Williams’ match at the US Open, the announcer misidentifies Dionne Warwick as Gladys Knight on live television.
When the broadcast shifted to a shot of two ladies during the first set of Serena Williams’ match on Wednesday, Chanda Rubin and Mary Carillo were handling the microphones.
The leftmost woman in the photo was music icon Dionne Warwick, but commentators Chanda Rubin and Mary Carillo misidentified her as Gladys Knight Knight – also a music icon – was also in attendance, and Rubin explained she had been watching the court and not her monitor at the time of the mistake.
Yesterday, during a broadcast of Serena Williams’ US Open match, commentators misidentified Dionne Warwick as Gladys Knight, while the legendary singer watched from the stands.
During the first set, Chanda Rubin and Mary Carillo were operating the microphones when the broadcast moved to a shot of two elderly women in the stands.
Rubin replied, “Added some more stars” as the camera focused on the women.
Carillo identified the Motown legend incorrectly as Gladys Knight.
“Gladys Knight,” Rubin repeated, reiterating the error.
‘Hello!’ said Carillo.
One of the women seated on the left side of the photograph was famed singer Dionne Warwick, not legendary singer Gladys Knight, whose name also ruled the charts throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
Wednesday saw Dionne Warwick (above) attend the US Open. Commentators erroneously identified her as soul singer Gladys Knight.
Soul fans, including one Twitter user with the handle @Stevies Wonder, caught the error immediately and mocked the pundits accordingly.
“Unacceptable on both their parts,” tweeted @Stevies Wonder.
Rubin moved to Twitter to defend herself, explaining that Knight was also in attendance that night and that she and Carillo were looking at the court rather than the monitor displaying the program when they spoke.
‘It’s unfortunate that I was first staring at the court (where Auntie Gladys was sitting in the stands) instead of our program monitor, which displayed Ms. Dionne… The error was quickly remedied,’ Rubin tweeted to one of the users who had pointed out the error.
However, it is unknown whether Knight, who was sighted at the stadium on Monday, was present yesterday night.
On Monday, Gladys Knight (center) attended the US Open. It is unknown whether she attended on Wednesday as well.
From the 1960s until the 1980s, Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight both ruled the soul music charts.
A representative for Knight told TMZ that she was “honored” to be mistaken for Warwick and was not offended by the mix-up.
The representative stated, “Dionne and I have been sisters for a long time, and I hope she is as honored to be mistaken for me as I would be for her,” adding, “I’m certain it was an honest mistake.” It was a privilege to witness Serena’s greatness in person.
Warwick was evidently unfazed by the error, as she sent out a Tweet this morning containing lyrical puns, laughing emojis, and her introduction as Gladys Knight.
Warwick wrote, “Hello, my name is Gladys Knight, and instead of catching the midnight train to Georgia, I will say a prayer for you.”
Wednesday during a live broadcast, tennis commentators Mary Carillo (left) and Chanda Rubin (right) mistook Dionne Warwick for Gladys Knight.
Williams, who revealed in August that she will be retiring from professional tennis shortly, is likely to compete in her final US Open.
Following the revelation, celebrities have flocked to the Arthur Ashe event in an attempt to catch a final glimpse of the lady who is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Supermodel Bella Hadid, golf icon Tiger Woods, director Spike Lee, actor Jared Leto, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, and even former president Bill Clinton have been sighted in the stands.
Wednesday’s match was won by Williams, who defeated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit 3-1.
Her next match will be against Ajla Tomljanovi on Friday evening.