Alexis Ohanian is in his wife’s corner.
The Reddit co-founder defended Serena Williams against a hater bashing her Super Bowl 2025 halftime show cameo with Kendrick Lamar.
Ohanian, 41, shared a quote via X of Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock comparing Williams’ viral crip-walk to someone “cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church.”
Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, defended her Super Bowl 2025 halftime cameo.Getty Images
The businessman clapped back at a hater comparing her crip-walk to a “tasteless, X-rated joke.”Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation
Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock claimed the athlete should “apologize immediately.”Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation
Whitlock said that Williams “deserved to be criticized and she should’ve immediately apologized” for the surprise appearance — which, notably, was one of many digs at her ex Drake in Lamar’s performance.
Ohanian, in his clapback, wrote, “Some of y’all have no idea how criticized Serena was for this same dance at Wimbledon 13 years ago and it shows.”
The tennis star, notably, was slammed for seemingly doing the dance, made famous by the Los Angeles Crips in the 1970s, after beating Maria Sharapova.
Ohanian claimed that trolls “have no idea” what the dance referenced.AP
The tennis star, notably, was slammed for seemingly doing the dance after a 2012 match.WireImage
Ohanian continued, “This is bigger than the music.”
The businessman went on to post a clip of Samuel L. Jackson criticizing the performers while dressed as Uncle Sam.
“Too loud, too reckless — too ghetto!” the actor, 76, said. “Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!”
“This is bigger than the music,” Ohanian wrote.@alexisohanian/Instagram
Williams joked that she “would’ve been fined” for “crip-walk[ing] like that at Wimbledon.”Disney
Williams surprised fans when she danced onstage in a blue pleated skirt at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome on Sunday.
“Man I did not crip-walk like that at Wimbledon,” she said in a backstage video. “Oh, I would’ve been fined.”
Williams wasn’t the only one of Drake’s exes included in Lamar’s performance.
The 37-year-old headliner, who has been publicly feuding with the “Degrassi” alum since last year, also featured SZA in the headline-making show.
Williams’ viral moment in Kendrick Lamar’s performance on Sunday was also believed to be a dig at Drake.Getty Images
She and the “Degrassi” alum are rumored to have dated in the past.WireImage
The singer, 35, rocked a red leather look while singing “Luther” and “All the Stars.”
Her cameo came four years after Drake revealed their past romance in “Mr. Right Now,” which SZA clarified to Rolling Stone in 2023 was a “youth”-like and “childish” connection.
As for Williams, the Olympian was rumored to have dated Drake, 38, between 2011 and 2015.
Williams wed Ohanian in 2017.Alexis Ohanian Sr. / Instagram
The couple share daughters Olympia and Adira.Getty Images
He seemingly confirmed their romance when he referenced her in “Worst Behavior” in 2013, then said three years later that he wrote “Too Good” about Williams.
Sports journalist Stephen A. Smith told “First Take” listeners on Monday that he would have divorced Williams over the cameo as her husband, explaining, “If … my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his ass.”
Williams has been married to Ohanian since November 2017, and the couple share daughters Olympia, 7, and Adira, 1.
