Give Will Smith this much credit for a true-to-life portrayal: Richard Williams always had trouble removing himself and his ego from the story of Venus and Serena, too. The worst part of Smith’s explosively aggrieved narcissismmasquerading as familial “love” during the Academy Awards was that it dragged the story backward, turned women of powerful agency into bystanders to a guy who fancied himself the central actor in their success and couldn’t make himself sit down.

Anyone who witnessed the real-life events portrayed in the Oscar-worthy film “King Richard” knows there is some Hollywood fiction in it, despite the family’s cooperation. Perhaps the biggest is the relegation of the Williams sisters and their mother, Oracene Price, to “supporting” roles in events driven by a lone hero. Read More