A woman has gone viral for her extremely excited reaction to seeing Venus Williams at the Austin City Limits music festival.
In a video posted on Oct. 7, user Ku (@queenku_) captures a woman’s reaction to turning around in the crowd and noticing tennis star and Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams standing behind her. The woman’s friend continues trying to speak to her, and the woman yells, “Shut up! She’s a f*cking American treasure!”
Williams, having her makeup touched up by an assistant, is visibly amused as the woman praises her, repeatedly calling her “an American treasure.”
“She’s an American treasure! What the f*ck is wrong with you?” she yells to her friends, all of whom can be heard laughing behind the camera.
Williams, as well as her guest, Indian-American tennis player Prakash Amritraj, both laugh as the woman turns toward her and continues to levy admiration onto her.
“Such an appropriate reaction to randomly seeing queen Venus Williams,” Ku wrote in her video’s caption. “She told me Venus paved the way for so many women and she was honeslty just in shock!!”
By Tuesday, Ku’s video had over 3.7 million views.
@queenku_ Such an appropriate reaction to randomly seeing queen Venus Williams! She told me Venus paved the way for so many women and she was honeslty just in shock!! Tiktok do your thing and find her!!! #ACL #AUSTINCITYLIMITS #venuswilliams #serenawilliams #autin #austintexas ♬ Shes An American Treasure by Haley – Ku
Williams has been spotted by other attendees of the Austin City Limits music festival and was recorded dancing to country-rap artist Breland.
Many commenters shared the fan’s enthusiasm for meeting Williams, agreeing that her reaction was valid.
“The only way to act,” one user wrote. “Like girl that’s Venus Williams.”
“That is the minimum respect demanded in the presence of such a legend,” another said.
Williams is one of the most decorated tennis players of all time, holding seven Grand Slam singles titles, 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister Serena, and 4 Olympic gold medals. In 2000, she became the second player in Olympic history to win gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same games.
Although she previously said that she would no longer play doubles after her sister Serena announced her retirement, Venus Williams recently made the decision to partner with Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur at the upcoming Jasmin Open games held in Monastir, Tunisia.
Many commenters on Ku’s video were desperate for more context or an alternate point-of-view of the encounter. Ku posted a follow-up video showing a photo taken by a staff member at Miller Lite’s Bar 75 popup and offering some backstory.
@queenku_ Replying to @queenJ waiting on the algorithm as well, but this should do for now ! Go follow @pink papers princess and blow her and this sound up becuase she told NO LIES!! #acl #venuswilliams #americantreasure #haley #brandambassador #queenku #austintexas ♬ City Boys – Burna Boy
She shares that she was at Austin City Limits as a brand ambassador for Honda and that she was at Bar 75 when she spotted Williams.
“There’s me, just trying to record Venus, because you don’t see Venus every day,” Ku says in a voice overlay.
She tried to record a video, but as she was trying to get her camera to focus, she captured the hilarious interaction instead.
The woman seen in Ku’s video, Haley Cline (@haleymfcline), has come forward with a video of herself at the Austin City Limits festival, using the audio of her reaction to seeing Williams. “Yes, it’s me,” she wrote in the video’s text overlay.
Since the events of the video, Ku and Cline have maintained contact and formed a friendship. In her video, Ku refers to Haley as “the American treasure,” and urges viewers to follow her page.
The Daily Dot reached out to Ku and Cline via TikTok comment.
