Los Angeles, CA – October 14, 2025
In a moment that blended personal defense with professional poise, Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and husband to tennis icon Serena Williams, turned the tables on ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith during a live broadcast of the network's flagship sports debate show, First Take. The confrontation, which aired on October 9, 2025, stemmed from Smith's earlier inflammatory remarks about Williams' surprise onstage appearance with rapper Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in February. What began as a discussion on entrepreneurship quickly pivoted into a pointed reminder about the perils of unsolicited advice, leaving Smith visibly flustered and the sports media world buzzing with reactions.
The exchange unfolded just eight months after the Super Bowl controversy ignited a firestorm of debate. During the halftime performance at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Kendrick Lamar delivered a high-energy rendition of his chart-topping diss track "Not Like Us," a song widely interpreted as a direct shot at fellow rapper Drake amid their ongoing feud. Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion and a longtime friend of Lamar, made a cameo appearance, joining him onstage for a brief dance segment that electrified the crowd of over 65,000 fans. The moment was a triumphant nod to her enduring cultural relevance, but it also reignited whispers about her past romantic entanglement with Drake, whom she reportedly dated intermittently from 2011 to 2015.
Smith, known for his unfiltered hot takes on First Take and his syndicated radio show, seized on the performance during a February broadcast. Interpreting Williams' participation as a deliberate troll aimed at her ex, he opined that such behavior signaled deeper marital discord. "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, framing the scenario as a hypothetical ultimatum from Ohanian's perspective. His co-host, Ryan Clark, pushed back, defending Williams by noting, "If you're with Serena Williams, you're going to be a kept man anyway," a quip that underscored the power dynamics in the couple's high-profile union. Smith's comments drew immediate backlash from fans and commentators alike, who accused him of projecting personal biases onto a celebrity marriage that has long been a model of resilience and mutual support.
Fast-forward to October 9, and Ohanian, 42, found himself as a guest on First Take, ostensibly to discuss his latest venture in the tech startup ecosystem. A serial entrepreneur with a net worth estimated at over $100 million, largely from his stake in Reddit's 2021 IPO, Ohanian has pivoted much of his focus in recent years to angel investing and mentoring founders through his firm, Seven Seven Six. The segment, moderated by host Molly Qerim and featuring analysts like Keyshawn Johnson, started innocuously enough with talk of venture capital trends. But as the conversation veered toward Ohanian's personal life—specifically his marriage to Williams, whom he wed in a lavish New Orleans ceremony in 2017— the Reddit co-founder seized the opportunity to address the elephant in the studio.
"Stephen A. Smith, I think you had some marriage advice for me. Is that right?" Ohanian said, his tone measured but laced with unmistakable sarcasm. Appearing virtually from his Los Angeles home, Smith, 57, who has built a media empire on bold proclamations, suddenly adopted a more conciliatory demeanor. "Listen, I didn't. Headlines are headlines. We can get into that another time... I am not qualified. Marital advice? No, not me," he replied, chuckling awkwardly as the camera caught his discomfort. The studio audience, a mix of ESPN staff and remote viewers, erupted in murmurs, sensing the tension.
Undeterred, Ohanian pressed forward with a masterclass in subtle shade. "Well, I was going to ask you, because you haven't been married before, right?" he continued, alluding to Smith's well-documented bachelor status. Smith confirmed with a nod, and Ohanian delivered the knockout line: "Because I give advice to plenty of founders who want to build billion-dollar companies, and the reason I do that is because I built billion-dollar companies. So, I generally try to stay in my lane in the advice department." The remark was a direct callback to Smith's overreach, implying that expertise in one arena—sports commentary—doesn't qualify someone to opine on another's personal relationships. As the segment cut to commercial, Qerim could be seen stifling a laugh, while social media lit up with clips of the exchange, amassing over 2 million views on X (formerly Twitter) within hours.
The Super Bowl incident wasn't just tabloid fodder; it highlighted deeper cultural undercurrents in hip-hop's ongoing Lamar-Drake rivalry, which has captivated audiences since Lamar's initial shots on his 2013 album good kid, m.A.A.d city. Drake, the Toronto-born megastar, has long woven references to Williams into his music, including a verse on 2016's "Too Good" where he raps about their rumored romance. The tension escalated in 2022 when Drake took a veiled jab at Ohanian on his track "Middle of the Ocean," dubbing him a "groupie" in a line that fans dissected for months. Williams, ever the picture of grace under pressure, addressed the speculation in a post-performance interview, clarifying that her appearance was purely celebratory. "It was about the music, the energy, and supporting a friend who's killing it," she told Vogue in March. "Kendrick's show was electric—nothing more, nothing less."
For Ohanian and Williams, the episode underscores the unique scrutiny they face as a power couple straddling sports, tech, and entertainment. Married since 2017, they share two daughters: Alexis Olympia, now 8, whose birth was chronicled in Williams' poignant essay about her near-fatal delivery complications, and Adira, born in 2023 via surrogate. Ohanian has been vocal about his role as a hands-on father, often sharing glimpses of family life on social media. Their relationship, forged in a chance 2015 meeting at Rome's Cavalieri hotel, has weathered public storms—from Williams' high-stakes career to Ohanian's 2020 decision to step down from Reddit's board to combat institutional racism. In a 2024 New Yorker profile, Ohanian described their bond as "unbreakable," crediting Williams' influence for his growth as an ally in social justice causes.
Smith's initial comments also reignited debates about gender double standards in sports media. Critics, including feminist outlets like Jezebel, argued that Smith's hypothetical divorce scenario reduced Williams—a self-made billionaire athlete—to a trope of the "disloyal wife," ignoring her agency and the context of Lamar's performance as a broader cultural statement on West Coast pride. "It's 2025, and we're still policing women's friendships and fun," tweeted influencer Lizzo in February, amplifying the chorus of disapproval. Smith, no stranger to controversy, doubled down at the time, telling his podcast listeners, "I'm just keeping it real—marriage is sacred, and that looked messy." Yet, by October, his on-air retreat suggested a tactical pivot, perhaps mindful of escalating advertiser pullback after past scandals.
Post-confrontation, the ripple effects were swift. On his Stephen A. Smith Show podcast the following Monday, Smith addressed the moment with characteristic bluster, framing it as "all in good fun" while praising Ohanian's "class." "Alexis came correct—dude's a boss. But let's be clear, I was speaking hypothetically," he said, before pivoting to NBA previews. Ohanian, meanwhile, took to X to post a cryptic emoji string— a lane marker followed by a mic drop—racking up 500,000 likes. Williams herself stayed above the fray, focusing instead on her burgeoning fashion line, S by Serena, which just launched a sustainable activewear collection to acclaim at New York Fashion Week.
This dust-up arrives amid a broader evolution in sports media, where on-air personalities increasingly blur lines between analysis and autobiography. First Take, ESPN's highest-rated morning program with over 1.2 million average viewers, thrives on such sparks, but incidents like this risk alienating audiences weary of personal potshots. As one Awful Announcing analyst noted, "Smith's lane-hopping is his brand, but Ohanian just redrew the map." For Ohanian, the appearance doubled as a soft launch for his new book, Stay in Your Lane: Lessons from Building Empires (and Marriages), slated for 2026 release—a title that now feels prescient.
Looking ahead, the incident may catalyze more nuanced conversations about celebrity privacy. Williams, who retired from professional tennis in 2022 after a storied career that redefined women's athletics, has long navigated objectification with poise. Her Super Bowl cameo, far from a marital red flag, was a reclamation of joy—a Black woman icon reveling in hip-hop's vanguard. Ohanian's clapback, delivered with the precision of a serve, reinforces their united front: a reminder that behind every headline is a partnership forged in authenticity.
As the sports world hurtles toward NFL playoffs and NBA tip-off, this exchange serves as a cultural bookmark. In an era where exes haunt playlists and pundits play armchair therapists, Ohanian's message resonates: Expertise is earned, and lanes are for staying in. Whether Smith heeds the advice remains to be seen, but for Williams and Ohanian, the real win is clear—unwavering solidarity in the face of the spotlight.
