The Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs rivalry is one of the fiercest and most widely renowned in all of sports history. Culminating in a 1973 tennis match between the pair, dubbed Battle of the Sexes, the rivalry saw Riggs present King with a giant Sugar Daddy lollipop ahead of the match-up. She returned the favour by giving him a squealing piglet, symbolising how she thought he was a ‘male chauvinist pig’.
In cinemas Friday, November 24
Having cemented itself in tennis history books, the rivalry will now be coming to the big screen in a film aptly named, Battle of the Sexes. There, Emma Stone takes on the role of King, whilst Steve Carell steps into the shoes of serial hustler, Riggs.
Today, we can exclusively reveal a brilliant short clip from the movie, which sees Stone as King take a journalist to task for weaving sexism through their reporting of the pending match. Check it out below:
As one of the most-watched televised sports events of all time, Battle of the Sexes took in 90 million viewers around the world, but it wasn’t just the battle on the tennis court that the pair had to deal with.
In private, King was struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, developing a close friendship with Marilyn Barnett and becoming increasingly confused about how she’d like to move on with that relationship in the future.
Riggs meanwhile was one of the first self-made celebrities, but wrestled with major gambling addiction at the expense of his family and wife.
Together, the pair made history, sparking a debate that still rages on to this day in bedrooms, boardrooms and, at some points, in the courtroom.
Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton direct the film, working with a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy.
Stone and Carell star alongside the likes of Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, Austin Stowell and Natalie Morales, with Danny Boyle, Christian Colson and Robert Graf serving as producers. Nicholas Britell provides the music for the flick.
Battle Of The Sexes comes to cinemas this Friday, November 24.
Tagged in Steve Carell Emma Stone