Last night marked the L.A. premiere of Zendaya’s forthcoming film Challengers, a stop that followed events in Australia, London, Paris, and Rome. While speaking with Entertainment Tonight on the black carpet, the actress said “she has been astounded by the sheer amount of love” from her family, friends, and fans, and “her No. 1 supporter, boyfriend Tom Holland,” the outlet writes.
“It’s great,” she said. “I mean, I feel so lucky. I have so much beautiful support around me. Even tonight, I have so many family—they’re over there—family and friends here.”
While Holland was nowhere to be seen on the carpet, he sometimes eschews publicity in order to let his girlfriend have her moment. Case in point? At the London premiere of Challengers last week, Holland skipped the carpet “but was caught kissing and embracing his girlfriend inside the venue in photos and videos posted online,” Entertainment Tonight reports before asking “Could he have done the same in sunny L.A.?”
Zendaya and stylist Law Roach have embraced “tenniscore,” harkening back to the theme of the film she’s promoting—think bedazzled tennis dresses and tennis ball green looks and a gown with a person playing tennis on the front. Last night, though, seemed a departure from theme dressing, as Zendaya wore a lacy black and pink gown designed by Vera Wang, which Zendaya said actually does relate to the film in a way fans will understand after watching. (The movie hits theaters on April 26.)
“It’s interesting, ‘cause we’ve had this dress for a while, and it just felt like the right time to bring her out,” Zendaya said, hinting that the ensemble mirrors a potentially scandalous scene in a nightgown.
“I’ve really enjoyed this press tour,” she said. “I just think the idea of tennis whites in general and kind of playing with that in each of my looks—it’s just been fun, you know, just experimenting and building this other red carpet character.”
Attending last night’s premiere was someone who knows tennis whites well—tennis legend Venus Williams, whose presence made Zendaya nervous, Entertainment Tonight reports. “I heard that she came and I was like, ‘No way, this is the coolest thing!’” she said. “So I’m very nervous, ‘cause I know [Venus’ sister] Serena [Williams, a fellow tennis pro] has seen the movie, but I’m very nervous about her seeing my tennis.”
She added that if Williams should find fault (see what we did there?) in her technical portrayal of the game itself, “I apologize in advance.”
Just days after Challengers hits theaters, Zendaya will co-chair the Met Gala on May 6—her first return to the event in five years. Zendaya told E! News it felt like the “right time” to make her return and added that this year’s gala will be “very special” and that co-hosting the prestigious event is “obviously an honor.”
Of what we can expect to see her in for this year’s theme of “Garden of Time,” Zendaya said that she and Roach “have some ideas,” and gave hints that she might continue her penchant for theme dressing: “Law and I, obviously we’ve been working together for many years, and we’ve been doing themed dressing since Greatest Showman,” she said. “It’s so nice to be able to experiment with fashion.”
Zendaya admitted to “being on the shier side,” but added that this is actually what has led her to embrace more over-the-top style statements. “I know, why do I do this for a living if I’m a shy person?” she joked. “I ask myself that every day. It just adds this layer of protection and confidence. I get to kind of create these characters—almost like in films.”
