One thing Alexis Ohanian doesn’t play about is his wife, Serena Williams.
The Reddit co-founder and husband to the 23-time Grand Slam champion is no stranger to defending his wife in public, and he recently showed just how quick he is with the clap back. During an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take,” Ohanian confronted Stephen A. Smith for comments he made about his wife and marriage after her cameo in Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl halftime performance.
“Stephen A., I think you had some marriage advice for me,” Ohanian teased, grinning at the camera. Smith, clearly not expecting the moment, chuckled nervously before backpedaling: “Headlines are headlines. We can get into that another time.”
It all started back in February after the tennis legend hit a crip walk during Lamar’s performance of “Not Like Us,” a moment felt like an extra jab at Drake, Williams’ ex, in the ongoing rap beef.
The next day, Smith went on “First Take” and, instead of celebrating the moment, took a swipe at Williams and Ohanian.
“If I’m married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his a—. ’Cause clearly you don’t belong with me. What you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye. Bye,” Smith declared.
At the time, Ohanian wasted no time showing his support for his wife, taking to X to share:
“Pretty fantastic halftime show,” he wrote making it clear he was all for the moment and going on to highlight the deeper significance, reminding folks that Williams was once criticized for those same dance moves on the tennis court.
“Some of y’all have no idea how criticized Serena was for this same dance at Wimbledon 13 years ago and it shows,” he added. “This is bigger than the music.”
Fast forward eight months later, and Ohanian was equally as ready to confront Smith in person.
“I was hoping you were going to be here,” he said before Smith conceded, “Marriage advice? No, I’m not qualified.”
That’s when Ohanian delivered the kind of clapback you can only admire. “I was gonna ask, cause, you hadn’t been married before, right? Cause I give advice to plenty of founders who want to build billion-dollar companies. And the reason I do that is because I build billion-dollar companies, so I generally try to stay in my lane.”
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