Zendaya’s newest movie, Challengers, is coming out at the end of April, and while most fans can’t wait for the release, others are less than impressed with her performance—just based off the trailer alone! POdcast host and influencer Hannah Berner made her thoughts clear on a recent episode of her podcast, Giggly Squad, which she shares with Paige DeSorbo, saying her representation of women in sports is “disrespectful.” Keep reading for all the details.
Zendaya Stars In 'Challengers'
Challengers is a movie all about tennis...or rather, the people who play tennis. Zendaya stars as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis player turned tennis coach. She turns her husband, Art Donaldson, who's played by Mike Faist, from a very average tennis player into a star and all is well, until he hits a rough patch.
Her strategy for pulling him out? Having him play in the lowest level of tournament on the pro tour against his former best friend...and Tashi's ex-boyfriend. Tensions between all parties rise, and not just because of the competition.
The film has so far received widespread acclaim from critics and has even garnered a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Which makes sense, because Zendaya put a lot of effort into learning the role. She spent three months training with pro-tennis player-turned-coach Brad Gilbert. Yet according to Berner, it wasn't enough.
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Hannah Berner Days Zendaya's Performance Is 'Disgraceful'
On the April 12th episode of Giggly Squad, Berner spilled her true thoughts. "I support women in the arts, but how dare they," she began. "First of all, put the racket in her hand the right way, if you're going to say she's the greatest player that did tennis. It's disrespectful."
"It's like doing a football movie and he's throwing the the football not even holding it the right way. It's disrespectful. And then she tears her ACL, which is not a career ending injury, it happens all the time." Berner then went on to say that recovery "takes seven months," however most ACL tears do require over a year of recovery.
"The tennis movie with Zendaya, I don't support it," she closed with. "I'm vocally speaking against it. As a former tennis player I think it’s bad for women in sports."
