"I do not judge Serena Williams, it's her body" - Fitness influencer clears the air, highlights 'racial bodyshaming' context to weight loss drugs use

The legendary tennis player, Serena Williams, recently revealed the reason behind her weight loss journey, which drew criticism from the famed body-image speaker and author, Alex Light. The fitness influencer clarified her recent comments and further shared her views while highlighting racial body shaming, pointed out to her by fans online, and the marketing of such weight loss medications.

Serena Williams is widely considered one of the greatest athletes in the history of women's tennis. Along with her 73 WTA Tour singles titles, including 23 major titles, she has clinched four Olympic gold medals and 22 doubles titles.

The Saginaw, Michigan, native recently revealed that by using GLP-1 of Ro medications, she has lost 31 pounds. As per Ro's official site, this class of drugs is used to treat weight management, heart and kidney problems, and helps in managing sleep apnea.

However, Williams' disclosure had garnered criticism from notable body-confidence speaker Alex Light, who raised concerns regarding the impact of these medications. However, in her most recent Instagram post, the latter highlighted the athlete's role in marketing these drugs, considering the overall effects of these on other individuals, while sharing about Williams' racial body shaming history, which was pointed out to her after her first reaction.

"A lot of people pointed out that I hadn't mentioned the fact that Serena (Williams) is a black woman who's faced a lifetime of racially charged body shaming. I don't claim to understand the racialized pressures that she's and that is all really important context in understanding why she might want to lose weight, and that deserves acknowledgement."

"I think we can also hold space for the harm that comes from promoting GLP1s for commercial incentive. I do not judge her for using these drugs. It's her body, it's her choice, and it's none of my business," Serena Williams said.

She further added:

"My concern is about the promotion of them, because when the world's most powerful athletes and celebrities not just normalize but sell these drugs for sponsorship money, it sets cultural trends that ripple down to ordinary people who don't have the same access to healthcare or monitoring or safety nets."

Alex Light has 627,000 followers on her Instagram handle and is the author of 'You Are Not A Before Picture,' an inspirational guide to avoiding diet culture and learning to embrace peace with our bodies.

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Serena Williams faced weight loss struggles and found success with GLP-1 by Ro

Serena Williams at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones - Red Carpet - Source: Getty

In her recent interview with People Magazine, Serena Williams revealed that she started facing weight issues after the birth of her first child in 2017. She faced similar issues with the birth of her second child and significantly battled against losing weight and getting back to her previous form. She revealed:

"I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at."

Williams further reflected that after taking GLP-1 medications, she felt 'really good and healthy'. The former World No.1 shares two daughters, Alexis Olympia and Adira River, with her husband, Reddit's co-founder and famed entrepreneur, Alexis Ohanian. He is also a major investor in the telehealth company, Ro.