Alexis Ohanian has not overlooked past comments.
On a recent appearance on “First Take,” the Reddit co-founder, who is married to Serena Williams, wittily called out Stephen A. Smith over his remarks concerning their marriage.
In February, Smith critiqued Williams’ appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, even suggesting she rekindle her romance with Drake, her ex.
“You weren’t married before, right? Because I advise a lot of founders who want to build a billion dollar company. And the reason I do it is because I’m building a billion dollar company.” – Alexis Ohanian just checked out Stephen A. Smith https://t.co/YghAXHoMrR pic.twitter.com/lks6l9zPEI
— Terrible announcement (@awfulpayment) October 9, 2025
Ohanian quipped, “I think Mr. Stephen A. Smith was in the business of giving me marriage advice, right?” This was in the context of promoting the Athos Track and Field Championships starting that evening.
Smith somewhat backtracked, replying, “A headline is just a headline, and we can discuss that later.” He added, “Oh, I’m not qualified. Are you married? No, I’m not?”
Ohanian mentioned he had been looking forward to going head-to-head with Smith, who participated from a distance.
“You weren’t married before, right? I usually try to set aside my own opinions to give advice,” Ohanian stated.
MJ Acosta Ruiz, who was temporarily hosting, chimed in during a break, saying, “Let’s save the marriage advice for later. I’ve been good for 13 years. Alexis, thank you so much.”
Back in February, Smith criticized Williams at a time when many believed Lamar was eclipsed by Drake during their performance at the Super Bowl. This happened amid ongoing tensions between the two rappers.
“If I were married and my wife was engaging with her ex in that way, I’d say, ‘Let’s focus on us,’” Smith remarked then.
In a subsequent interview with TIME, Williams clarified she wasn’t throwing shade at her ex while dancing to Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” a song that features references to Drake.
She mentioned that her collaboration with Lamar took significant effort, intended as a tribute to their shared roots in Compton, California.
Williams and Drake had a relationship in the past, and he previously created the song “Too Good” with Rihanna for her.
