Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, hit back at sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith over his remarks about the tennis legend following her Super Bowl halftime cameo. Williams’ brief appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s performance sparked widespread debate.In February 2025, Williams made a brief appearance during Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance of his Grammy-winning track “Not Like Us.” Though she appeared for only a few seconds, her ‘Crip Walk’ dance sparked major controversy, as the song is widely known as a diss track aimed at her reported ex, Drake.Speaking about it on ESPN, Smith claimed that if he were married to Williams, he would have filed for a divorce for such an act. He said:"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. What you worried about him for and you're with me? Bye. Bye."Months later, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who had steadfastly supported his wife throughout the controversy, took the opportunity to respond to Smith. Ohanian began by reminding Smith of his earlier ‘marriage advice,’ to which Smith dismissed the claim, saying, “Headlines are headlines,” and denied offering any such advice.Further, the American entrepreneur and investor took a sneaky jibe at Smith and said:"You hadn’t been married before, right? Cause 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."Notably, the media’s reaction to Williams’ 'crip walk' was fiercely divided. Some condemned it as glamorising 'gang culture,' while others lauded it as cultural expression and a bold personal statement.Serena Williams denied throwing shade at Drake with her performance at the Super BowlSerena Williams at the NikeSKIMS Launch Event at Nike House of Innovation New York - Source: GettyEarlier this year, Serena Williams was announced as one of the TIME100 Most Influential People. As part of the campaign, she was interviewed by Time, where she denied throwing shade at Drake with her performance at Super Bowl LIX."Absolutely not... I would never do that [throw shade at Drake]. And that was sad, that anyone would ever think that. I respect how they could. Obviously I can see how someone would think that. But absolutely not. I have never had negative feelings towards him. We’ve known him for so many years," Serena Williams said.Moreover, during the same interview, Williams brushed off Stephen A. Smith's remarks, calling them “hilarious” and noting:"He’s allowed to have his personal opinion."She even pointed toward her husband, Alexis Ohanian's defence of her on social media, sharing past criticism of her Olympic crip walk. Williams later added that she and Ohanian are focused on "investing in women and in sports," dismissing the controversy as trivial.