Mismatch point! US Open announcer misidentifies Dionne Warwick as Gladys Knight on live TV during Serena Williams’ match
- Chanda Rubin and Mary Carillo were manning the microphones in the first set of Serena Williams’ match on Wednesday when the broadcast cut to a two-woman shot.
- The leftmost woman in the shot was music legend Dionne Warwick, but commentators Chanda Rubin and Mary Carillo identified her as Gladys Knight.
- Knight, also a music legend, also attended the game, and Rubin explained that he had been watching the court and not his monitor at the time of the error.
Tennis commentators mixed up their Motown legends during a broadcast of Serena William’s US Open match yesterday, misidentifying Dionne Warwick as Gladys Knight as the iconic singer watched from the stands.
Chanda Rubin and Mary Carillo were manning the microphones in the first set when the broadcast showed a shot of two older women watching from the stands.
“I’ve got a few more stars,” Rubin said as the shot stayed on the women.
“Gladys Knight,” Carillo said, misidentifying the Motown legend.
“Gladys Knight,” Rubin said, echoing the hook.
‘Hello!’ Carrillo said.
One of the women, seated on the left in the shot, was legendary singer Dionne Warwick, whose name dominated the charts during the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, and not legendary singer Gladys Knight, whose name also dominated the charts during the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. 60s, 70s and 80s. 80s
Dionne Warwick (above) attending the US Open on Wednesday. Commentators misidentified her as fellow soul singer Gladys Knight.
The bug was quickly noticed by eagle-eyed soul fans, including a Twitter user with the username @Stevies_Wonder, who poked fun at commenters.
“Unacceptable from both of us,” wrote @Stevies_Wonder.
However, Rubin took to Twitter to defend herself, explaining that Knight was also in the crowd that night and that she and Carillo were facing the court when they spoke instead of the monitor showing them the broadcast.
“Too bad I was initially looking at the court (where Aunt Gladys was in the stands) and not our program monitor showing Ms. Dionne… error corrected immediately,” Rubin wrote on Twitter to one of the fans. users who criticized the error.
However, it is not clear if Knight, who was seen at the stadium on Monday, was present last night.
Gladys Knight (centre) attending the US Open on Monday. It is not clear if she also attended on Wednesday.
Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight dominated the soul charts from the ’60s through the ’80s.
A rep for Knight told TMZ she wasn’t offended by the mix-up and was “honored” to be mistaken for Warwick.
“Dionne and I have been sisters for a long time and I hope she feels as honored to be mistaken for me as I would be for her,” the rep said, “I’m sure it was an honest mistake.” It was a blessing to be in the house to see Serena’s greatness.’
Apparently Warwick wasn’t bothered by the error either, sending out a Tweet this morning full of lyrical puns, laughing emojis and introducing herself as Gladys Knight.
“Hello I’m Gladys Knight…and instead of taking that midnight train to Georgia I won’t be walking past but saying a little prayer for you,” Warwick wrote.
Tennis commentators Mary Carillo (left) and Chanda Rubin (right) mistook Dionne Warwick for Gladys Knight during a live broadcast on Wednesday.
This US Open tournament is expected to be the last for Williams, who announced in August that she would soon retire from professional tennis.
Following the announcement, celebrities flocked to the Arthur Ashe tournament hoping to get one last chance to see the woman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Among the celebrities who packed the stands were supermodel Bella Hadid, golf legend Tiger Woods, director Spike Lee, actor Jared Leto, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and even former President Bill Clinton.
Williams won the match on Wednesday, beating No.2 seed Anett Kontaveit 3-1.
His next match is on Friday night against Ajla Tomljanović.
