It’s hard for a tennis ball to shatter a glass ceiling, but Billie Jean King came pretty close when she beat Bobby Riggs. “Battle of the Sexes” tells the story of that historic match — and why it still has meaning more than 40 years later.
Steve Carell (as Bobby Riggs): “Eureka Billie Jean, it’s Bobby Riggs.”
Academy Award winner Emma Stone hopes her latest role as Billie Jean King does more than tell a real-life story.
Emma Stone: “I would hope that, even though it’s sad in many ways, that it’s so relevant today. That it is inspiring enough to move the needle forward, and that you can realize that one person’s voice can affect massive change.”
“Battle of the Sexes” follows Billie Jean King as she fights for women’s equality and wins the most watched tennis match in history — her “man versus woman” showdown against former tennis champ, Bobby Riggs.
Steve Carell (as Bobby Riggs): “I’m the ladies’ Number 1. I’m the champ, why would I lose?”
Emma Stone (as Billie Jean King): “Because dinosaurs can’t play tennis.”
But for Emma, “Battle of the Sexes” isn’t about Billie Jean’s battles on the court — it’s about what she did off it.
Emma Stone: “These are the shoulders we stand on in our fight for equality, and she’s one of the trailblazers of so much social change that we needed then and still need today.”
Her co-star Sarah Silverman says the fact that this movie was made more than four decades later is no accident.
Sarah Silverman: “I think when we made this movie, I think we thought it would come out and be a celebration of ‘look how far we’ve come’ and and ‘now we have our first woman president.'”
Instead…
Sarah Silverman: “This movie is far more relevant than any of us had hoped.”
Deco asked the tennis ace herself if she ever envisioned her fight would hold such weight all these years later.
Billie Jean King: “I was hoping not, but it is and you really learn as you get older, you have more perspective and I’m in my 70s now, and the thing you start to realize is that every generation has to start the battle over.”
But in true Billie Jean King form, she is holding out hope.
Billie Jean King: “I really believe in the younger generations. I know they’re gonna do a great job.”
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