Venus Williams is a player who uses her position to speak for notions she believes. She has pushed younger girls and African-American children to aim higher. But Williams is not without her own sources of motivation. Queen V has spoken about her admiration of the singer Nina Simone, a civil rights activist. In an exclusive, Williams talked about how she came to admire Simone.

Along with setting the music industry on fire, Simone also worked for the betterment of persons of color in the US. Her work not only helped millions, but it also inspired many to work for such a cause. One person whose desire for justice was born from her fire was Venus Williams.

Venus Williams on her off-court idol

In a recent interview with Paper Magazine, Venus Williams and Adam Pendleton, a conceptual artist, talked about their inspiration. Throughout their careers, the two received constant inspiration from Simone. Further, they talked about how they plan on using their platform to fight back against systemic injustice. 

Williams stated that without someone like Simone fighting before her time, she would not have had such opportunities. She also talked about how she interpreted her work as an activist.  

“There would be no me without women like Nina. She broke so many barriers; she opened so many doors and sacrificed so much. There were so many other artists at that time who weren’t willing to make those sacrifices. You could tell that the truth meant a lot to her, so much so that she was willing to sacrifice her position in the world and her success for what really mattered“. 

Read more – 42-Year-Old Venus Williams All Set to Launch a Whopping $5,000,000 Event for a Noble Cause in Memory of Her Idol

Williams further stated that she is pursuing her current venture because of people like Nina Simone. Her work with equal opportunity is what motivated Williams the most, and she also talked about the importance of art, music, and theatrics.

She said, “I literally am doing what I do because of her and because of people like her. Her greatest impact for me is opportunity equality. In my head at times I’ll think of tennis as an art form as things can be performing arts, but I don’t know that I’m a real artist. I really do appreciate being able to interface with the creative world through art, music and performances“.

Watch this story – 42-Year-Old Venus Williams Relishes the Best Impulsive Decision of Her Life That happened 16 Years Ago – ‘I Love Him Already..’

Queen V has started focusing more on her off-court venture as she slowly goes away from tennis. Her ventures aim to continue the works of her predecessor and have a similar impact.