Wendy Williams Trashes Ronda Rousey For ‘Sports Illustrated’ Swimsuit Issue Cover

It’s clear that Wendy Williams is not exactly an admirer of Ronda Rousey. The daytime television host pulled no punches during a recent episode of her show when commenting on Ronda Rousey’s much-touted photo shoot with Sports Illustrated. As previously reported by Inquisitr and other outlets, Rousey “wore” an elaborately painted-on ensemble for the shoot, and she is one of three models who graced a series of covers for the forthcoming special issue of the iconic magazine.

Williams had high praise for Ashley Graham, the first-ever plus-sized model to grace the front of Sports Illustrated‘s annual bathing suit extravaganza. She also gave tacit approval to Hailey Clauson’s semi-nude cover photo. But when discussion turned to former UFC women’s champ Ronda Rousey, Williams’ tone was decidedly different, landing somewhere between ridicule and contempt. Entertainment website ENTImports posted a video excerpt from Williams’ rant.

“This is the girl that you see swimming in your pool in Jersey,” Williams said. “Like she’s hot and she’s at the barbecue but this is not … And they say that the bathing suit is painted on, that this is not a real bathing suit. But they painted that on her. Still doesn’t add to it. Look the hair is wrong, the eyes are wrong, the nose is wrong, the neck is wrong, everything wrong, wrong, wrong.”

The TV host attempted to frame her comments as more of an aesthetic critique than an indictment of Ronda Rousey’s star power in subsequent comments.

“[I’m] not even counting the idea that that she lost her last fight because that’s what a lot of people in my morning meeting were saying,” Williams said. “I was like, well win or lose it doesn’t really matter it’s just that she looks very, like she’s from Queens or something. Or Jersey or Coney Island. Alright this is SI, you all they step it up. That’s all.”

The caustic remarks by Wendy Williams come in the midst of Ronda Rousey’s disclosure that she struggled with suicidal thoughts after shocking loss to Holly Holm last year. On Monday, Rousey told Ellen DeGeneres that she was at her lowest just moments after the fight.

“I was down in the corner [of the medical room], and I was like, ‘What am I anymore if I’m not this?’ I was literally sitting there and thinking about killing myself,” she said in comments transcribed by Fox News. “In that exact second I’m like, ‘I’m nothing.’ ”

She told Degeneres that she made it through the emotional crisis with the help of her boyfriend, Travis Browne.

Williams’ tirade against Ronda Rousey is not the first time she has directed harsh words at pop culture icons. Celebrity news outlet FishWrapper recently noted Williams’ penchant for skewering the Kardashians and the Jenners. She has also thrown serious shade at Madonna, Rihanna, and NeNe Leakes in the recent past.

As for Ronda Rousey, it’s not likely that she will give too much credence to Wendy Williams’ coarsely-phrased critiques. Forbes Magazine listed Rousey as the one of the highest paid female athletes in the world for 2015, and she also landed a role in the major motion picture, Entourage, which grossed over $32 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Ronda Rousey is also preparing for an eventual return to the octagon, telling Ellen DeGeneres that she hopes to have her next fight in November, 2016.

[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]