Alexis Ohanian, husband of tennis legend Serena Williams, confronted ESPN host Stephen A. Smith live on air after Smith's earlier harsh comments about Williams' Super Bowl halftime appearance.
Ohanian, 42, made the pointed remarks on the Thursday, October 9 episode of "First Take," where Smith joined remotely.
The Reddit co-founder took the opportunity to respond to a comment Smith made eight months ago, suggesting he would've divorced Williams if he were her husband.
"Stephen A. Smith, I think you had some marriage advice for me. Is that right?" Ohanian asked directly, catching the host off guard, US Magazine reported.
Looking uncomfortable, Smith replied, "Listen, headlines are headlines. We can get into it another time... I am not qualified. Marital advice? No, not me."
But Ohanian didn't back down. "I was gonna ask, 'cause you haven't been married before, right?" he continued. "I give advice to plenty of founders who want to build billion-dollar companies — because I built billion-dollar companies. So I try to stay in my lane in the advice department."
Smith remained quiet after that, and the segment wrapped up without further response.
Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, confronted Stephen A. Smith over the comments he made about Serena dancing with Kendrick Lamar during the Super Bowl halftime show pic.twitter.com/x8E6NCQ70K
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) October 12, 2025
Alexis Ohanian Defends Serena Williams
The clash stems from Smith's comments made in February 2025, one day after Williams joined rapper Kendrick Lamar during his Super Bowl halftime performance.
According to Parade, during Lamar's performance of "Not Like Us," a diss track aimed at fellow rapper Drake, Williams danced on stage — a move Smith strongly criticized.
"If I'm married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his ass," Smith said at the time. "What you worried about him for and you're with me? Bye. Bye."
Williams, 44, who has been linked to Drake in the past, later denied any intention to shade him. In an April interview, she said her performance had "absolutely nothing" to do with him and added, "I would never do that."
Ohanian, who married Williams in 2017, had publicly supported her performance back in February, calling the show "fantastic" on social media.
He also reposted a video of her dancing, captioned "Highlight of the Super Bowl."
This isn't the first time Ohanian has stood up for his wife. After another commentator called him a "beta" for defending her, he fired back with a strong online response about staying true to himself and his family.
Ohanian and Williams share two daughters, Olympia, 8, and Adira, 2.
Originally published on Enstarz
