Dionne Warwick calls Gladys Knight mix-up an ‘honest mistake’

The music legend was among the famous faces watching Serena Williams take on Anett Kontaveit on Thursday (09.01.22) and was thrust into the spotlight when ESPN commentators Mary Carillo and Chanda Rubin seemingly confused her with another singing sensation – Gladys Knight – who was also watching the match.

Now Dionne has insisted she believes Chanda’s explanation when she claimed she was looking at Gladys on her screen while the other singer was on the other monitor, telling TMZ.com: “I don’t think Chanda would ever mistake me for Gladys Knight. I know her. So I do honestly believe that she said what she meant that she was watching Serena and Gladys’ picture came up and … then said Gladys Knight but had me on camera. So it was an honest mistake. I didn’t even know it had happened … I said it’s alright she’s a friend.”

After the mix-up, former tennis ace Chanda wrote on Twitter: “Too bad I was initially looking at the court (where Auntie Gladys was in the stands) and not our program monitor that showed Ms. Dionne … mistake was immediately corrected.”

Dionne also joked about the mix-up on the social media platform, writing: “Hi, I’m Gladys Knight … and instead of taking that midnight train to Georgia, I won’t walk on by but will say a little prayer for you.”

While Gladys added: “Dionne and I have been sisters for a long time and I hope she is as honored to be mistaken for me as I would be her. I’m sure it was an honest mistake. It was a blessing to be in the house to see Serena’s greatness.”