Alexis Ohanian Defends Serena Williams After Criticism of Super Bowl Halftime Cameo

Alexis Ohanian is standing firmly by his wife, Serena Williams, after a critic bashed her Super Bowl 2025 halftime show cameo with Kendrick Lamar. The Reddit co-founder took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend his wife against Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock, who compared Williams’ viral crip-walk dance to “cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church.”

Whitlock suggested Williams “deserved to be criticized” for the move, which was part of Lamar’s performance that also took shots at her rumored ex, Drake. Ohanian responded by reminding critics of the backlash Williams faced when she first performed a similar dance at Wimbledon 13 years ago. He 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 debate stemmed from Williams’ unexpected performance onstage in a blue pleated skirt at the Superdome, which left some viewers questioning her actions, including sports journalist Stephen A. Smith, who suggested he would have divorced his wife over the cameo. Ohanian, however, made it clear that this controversy was about much more than just the performance, emphasizing his unwavering support for Serena.