Serena Williams Announces Second Pregnancy at Met Gala

Photo Credit: Serena Williams/Instagram 

Serena Williams announced on Instagram Monday night that she is pregnant with her second child, just ahead of her appearance at the 2023 Met Gala, an annual event that benefits the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

The tennis legend, 41, attended the star-studded event with her husband Alexis Ohanian and shared a photo of the couple, captioning it, "Was so excited when Anna Wintour invited the 3 of us to the Met Gala."

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Williams and Ohanian, 40, already have a five-year-old daughter, Olympia, who Williams famously carried during her win at the 2017 Australian Open. Ohanian expressed his excitement on Twitter, saying, "Mama & Papa love this parenting-thing, so we're back at it 😁 and @olympiaohanian is gonna be the best Big Sister—she's been asking & praying for this for a minute. #MetGala."

Mama & Papa love this parenting-thing, so we're back at it 😁 and @olympiaohanian is gonna be the best Big Sister—she's been asking & praying for this for a minute. #MetGala pic.twitter.com/Ycv9FBtV61

— Alexis Ohanian 🧠 (@alexisohanian) May 2, 2023

In a first-person essay for Vogue in August, Williams revealed that she would be "evolving away" from tennis to expand her family, saying, "In the last year, Alexis and I have been trying to have another child, and we recently got some information from my doctor that put my mind at ease and made me feel that whenever we're ready, we can add to our family."

Williams has been open about the challenges she faced during her first pregnancy, which included a difficult childbirth and a long recovery. Despite these difficulties, she returned to professional tennis just six months after giving birth and has since reached four major finals, winning a title at Auckland in 2020.

Wintour, who co-chairs the Met Gala, is a friend of Williams's and the tennis star is a frequent attendee of the event.

Kendrick Lamar's Tour Smashes Records, Earns Over $110 Million

Kendrick Lamar's "Big Steppers Tour" has broken the record for the highest-grossing headline tour by a rap artist, according to Touring Data. The Live Nation-promoted tour, which covered 73 dates, generated $110,886,026 from 929,056 ticket sales.

.@kendricklamar's "The Big Steppers" is the highest-grossing tour by a rapper as headlining act in history with $110.9 million from 929,000 tickets sold in 73 shows.

— Touring Data (@touringdata) April 26, 2023

Lamar's tour grossed $69,255,230 from 492,283 tickets sold for 40 North American shows, $31,593,834 from 26 European shows with 349,401 attendees, and $10,036,962 from seven Oceania gigs that drew in 87,372 fans.

The figures show Lamar surpassing previous record-holders Drake and Future's "Summer Sixteen Tour" from 2016, which grossed $84.3 million from 54 shows, and Drake and Migos' "Aubrey & The Three Migos" run from 2018, which grossed $79 million from 43 shows, according to Pollstar. It also topped Kanye West and Jay-Z's "Watch The Throne Tour" from 2011/12, which earned $75.4 million from 57 concerts, and Lamar's own "The Damn Tour" from 2017/18, which earned $62.7 million.

Top Tours by Rappers:

#1 #KendrickLamar, "The Big Steppers"
#2 #Drake, "Aubrey & the Three Migos"
#3 #Drake & #Future, "Summer Sixteen"
#4 #KanyeWest & #JayZ, "Watch the Throne"
#5 #KendrickLamar, "Damn"
#6 #TravisScott, "Astroworld"

— Touring Data (@touringdata) April 26, 2023

The tour, presented by Rotation, Amazon Music's hip-hop and R&B brand, and produced by Live Nation, concluded on December 16, 2022, at Auckland's Spark Arena in New Zealand.

Lamar's "Big Steppers Tour" supported his fifth album, "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers," and took him to arenas worldwide after he headlined Glastonbury Festival 2022 with Billie Eilish and Paul McCartney.

This summer, Lamar is scheduled to headline a series of festival dates across Europe, North America, and Asia, including Denmark's Roskilde, Lollapalooza Paris, and Poland's Open'er. In the US, he is set to headline Outside Lands in San Francisco and Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas, while also performing at Bonnaroo in Tennessee and New York City's Governors Ball.

Watch: Rock the Bells Festival Announces 2023 Lineup With Epic Trailer

The Rock the Bells Festival announced its lineup for 2023 on Thursday, and it features some of the most iconic and trailblazing performers in the hip-hop industry.

Queen Latifah, Ludacris, De La Soul, Method Man & Redman, Swizz Beatz, Salt-n-Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and Fabolous are just a smattering of the rap icons that will be on hand to perform at the event, which also promises to offer an immersive experience for hip-hop enthusiasts, highlighting the genre's impact on fashion, art and food.

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"We've made it a priority to honor hip-hop culture! This is a celebration for artists who paved the way and the legions of fans around the world throughout hip-hop's 50th-anniversary year," James Cuthbert, President of Rock The Bells, said. "The stage is set for the overdue acknowledgment and celebration of our culture and the fans who live and breathe it! This lineup represents icons and artists from various decades, cities, and styles, ensuring fans have the best hip-hop experience possible."

Along with the musical performances, the festival will also include a range of experiences, such as a tribute to the late Sean Price by Rock & Bernadette Price and a showcase of hip-hop pioneers' debut albums and hit singles, including the 35th anniversary of The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.

The festival takes place on August 11 at Forest Hills Stadium in New York City, marking the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop. Fans can purchase presale VIP packages and general and reserved tickets for the festival through the festival's website.

To announce the lineup, Rock the Bells released a promotional trailer on Thursday featuring LL COOL J, Mike Epps, Salt-N-Pepa, Slick Rick, and Yo-Yo. The trailer is based on the seminal hip-hop-heist movie Set It Off and provides a sneak peek of what fans can expect from the festival.

Watch the full trailer below: