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Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, didn’t waste his chance to check Stephen A. Smith during his appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday morning.
Williams was featured in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show in February, and it sparked debate on the sports talk show about why she was there. While Smith’s co-hosts pointed to the connection between Williams and Lamar given their Compton roots, Shannon Sharpe focused on Lamar’s dis track to fellow artist Drake, who had a previous relationship with Williams.
That angle is what prompted Smith to take a shot at Ohanian, whose shoes he decided to step in for the segment.
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Serena Williams and husband Alexis Ohanian and their child pose for a photo while holding a replica shirt that says “Alexis 25” during the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on May 18, 2025, in London. (Justin Setterfield/The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
“If I’m married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his ass. ‘Cause clearly you don’t belong with me,” Smith said at the time. “What you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye. Bye.”
Well, before “First Take” went to a break on Thursday, Ohanian took the moment where they were talking about his marriage to Williams to check Smith for his comments in a nuanced way.
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“Also, too, Stephen A. Smith, I think you had some marriage advice for me. Is that right?” Ohanian asked.
“Oh, I am not qualified. Martial advice? Oh no, not me,” Smith responded.
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian during a match between the New York Golf Club and Los Angeles Golf Club at SoFi Center March 17, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (Megan Briggs/TGL/TGL via Getty Images)
Ohanian didn’t stop there.
“You hadn’t been married before, right?” he added. “Because 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 in the advice department.”
Ohanian is known mostly as the co-founder of the social media site Reddit. He’s also the founder of the professional, female-only track and field series Athlos.
Alexis Ohanian watches during a Barclays Women’s Super League match between Chelsea FC and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge Sept. 5, 2025, in London,. (Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)
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Williams and Ohanian were married on Nov. 16, 2017, two months after their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, was born. In August 2023, Williams gave birth to their second daughter, Adira River Ohanian.
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