"Not a word about the genocide in Gaza but jumped to demonise students" - Fans upset as Serena Williams’ husband condemns Columbia University protests

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, has earned the ire of tennis fans for his controversial remarks on the Columbia University protests concerning the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.

Over the last five days, widespread protests have erupted across Columbia University, opposing Israel's actions in Gaza. The protestors have called for the university to sever all ties with all companies and organizations supporting Israel.

That has resulted in over a 100 protestors being arrested by the NYPD, with the White House denouncing the protests as "blatantly antisemitic."

"Calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous –they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the US," an excerpt from the White House statement read.

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian echoed the White House's concerns, condemning the "vile" antisemitism on display. He also likened the Columbia University protests to the 'Unite the Right' white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

"The videos coming out of @Columbia are vile. Peaceful protest is an American right, but this anti-semitism ain't it. It was just as vile when it was the right chanting "Jews will not replace us" at UVA — now that it's coming from the left doesn't make it OK," Ohanian posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Fans cried hypocrisy, calling out Ohanian for speaking out against the "peaceful protests" while choosing to remain silent on Israel's "genocide" against Palestinians.

"What are you talking about? What videos showing antisemitism? You haven’t said a word about the genocide in Gaza and now you have something to say? Nothing even about the Armenians in the West Bank being attacked & displaced. Shame on you," one fan commented.

"It's a bummer that you haven't expressed more outrage about the genocide currently happening against Palestinians," another fan chimed in.

"Serena’s husband are you ok? As an Armenian you are well aware of the systemic destruction of your people and identity. You’ve not said a word about the genocide in Gaza but you’ve jumped on the bandwagon to demonise students peacefully protesting. Shame on you," said another.

Fans also slammed the 40-year-old for drawing an "insane" comparison to the white supremacist Charlottesville protests. They dragged Serena Williams' name into the controversy by referring to Ohanian in terms of his relationship with the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

"Comparing Charlottesville to the pro-peace activists is insane," one fan posted.

"SERENA WILLIAMS HUSBAND comparing the College students protesting a genocide to the KLAN MEMBERS AT CHARLOTTESVILLE???," wrote another.

"Oh no. Is this Serena’s husband comparing violent antisemitic white nationalist rallies with peaceful anti-Zionist, anti-genocide student protests?? Yikes," said yet another.

Fans continued to express their disappointment with Ohanian's "embarassing" and "stupid" take.

"Serena Williams come get your man embarrassing," a fan commented.

"As if loads of those students protesting aren’t literally Jewish. Everybody has been hit with the stupid stick in the last few days i swear to god," another fan posted.

"Six months of a genocide and you’ve been SILENT what an embarrassment," said another.

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Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian continued to criticize the Columbia University protests

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian

Despite the severe backlash, Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian continued to denounce the Columbia University protests, sharing a clip of protestors endorsing Hamas' October 7 attack.

"I know I'm not going to win any debate here, but this is an example of what I (& the WH) are talking about," he posted.

The co-founder of Reddit also challenged the claim that the protest in question didn't take place on the Columbia University campus.

"Before anyone else tells me "this isn't on campus" — I'm just gonna post here that 116th & Amsterdam is, in fact, essentially on campus," he commented further.

Ohanian is no stranger to expressing his opinions publicly, recently calling out the inconsistent media coverage for track and field athletes, suggesting that the sport was neglected except during the Olympics.