Serena Williams’ dad Richard approached with ‘$500k reality show deal’ amid messy divorce
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Serena Williams' father 'King Richard' has received a ton of TV offers including a $500k reality show deal as his messy divorce case continues, according to his son. This comes after the former tennis coach, who trained his daughters Serena and Venus for the sport, sat down with his son Chavoita LeSane for a wide-ranging interview in January.
Since the exclusive chat with The Sun, Chavoita revealed that they have been flooded with exciting offers amid promotions for Richard's new documentary 'On The Line'. The docu tracks the Oscar-winning movie ‘King Richard’ which depicted Serena and Venus' story through the eyes of their father who was played by Will Smith. Richard also disclosed that he has been approached for a book deal that would potentially revolve around his daughters rising as global stars in tennis as well as his many marriages.
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'The budget is allegedly around $500,000'
While speaking to The Sun, last week in February, Chavoita said: "My dad and I have been getting calls from multiple TV and radio stations since speaking out for the first time in years. It's an exciting time with the documentary also coming out. We've even been approached by a British TV network for a reality show focused on the work I do in producing films and partnering with charities, and my dad's life after tennis. The budget is allegedly around $500,000, and there may be other offers from elsewhere so we’re chatting through our options, but it’s an exciting proposal."
Richard 'would certainly make good TV'
Chavoita further talked about how his 81-year-old father would fit the TV roles. "My dad is a real character and would certainly make good TV. He seems interested in the idea, and I have a lot of different businesses, there's always something going on. I recently traveled to Hawaii for a film festival to promote my dad's documentary and we're working through the major release date for the film. It will be in big theaters in the coming months and we're really looking forward to it. The response to the movie has been incredible."
Richard is dealing with a bitter divorce battle
Meanwhile, the tennis patriarch has been dealing with a bitter divorce battle with ex-Lakeisha Graham, the mother of his 10-year-old son Dylan. The former couple is currently at war over their marital property in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. "I just want a divorce. It's been six years, man. Just a bunch of junk, junk, junk. [I'm] so tired of that junk now,” said Richard who has dealt with multiple strokes due to the evident stress of the ongoing divorce battle.