Alexis Ohanian, the multi-millionaire husband of retired skilled tennis legend Serena Williams, is standing up for his spouse.
Williams, 44, ignited a media firestorm when she shared two movies of cotton decorations inside a New York Metropolis resort on Sept. 25 to her social media web page.
“Hello everybody, how will we really feel about cotton as ornament? Personally, for me, it doesn’t really feel nice,” Williams expressed to her 18.2 million Instagram followers whereas filming within the resort hallway.
Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Accused of Residing Off of Tennis Icon’s Cash By Web Troll, Reddit Co-Founder Claps Again
She added, “So really, it looks like nail polish remover cotton. Pure.” She visibly shivered earlier than strolling off digicam.
Williams’ questioning of the cotton show led to opposing discourse in some corners of social media concerning the affiliation between the plant and the historical past of Black Individuals getting used as pressured labor earlier than the Civil Warfare.
Ohanian, 42, received concerned within the controversy after Web page Six reported that Williams has had a sculpture fabricated from metal, concrete, and cotton in her Miami mansion, implying she was being hypocritical concerning the resort ornament.
“Of us [are] entitled to have their opinions, however to make use of proudly owning Radcliffe Bailey’s Monument for a Promise as some type of a ‘gotchya’ is so breathtakingly silly—there may be some very apparent symbolism of the cotton within the paintings,” Ohanian tweeted on Sept. 26.
Nonetheless, Ohanian received extra backlash after followers found a photograph he shared of one other sculptor of their Miami residence. Bailey, the Atlanta-based sculptor who handed away in 2023 on the age of 54, created Monument for a Promise to depict a donkey carrying a trunk whereas standing over a mound of cotton. The picture featured a younger lady presumed ot be their daughter Olympia primarily based on her hair.
“Can’t make it up. I guess she paid a fortune for no matter that’s,” wrote one individual, whereas one other stated, “So wealthy she forgot concerning the artwork in her own residence.”
Some even agreed, “That is hideous btw.”
So wealthy she forgot concerning the artwork in her own residence. pic.twitter.com/YTEj1RUTJP
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 27, 2025
Ohanian leaping into the dialog sparked extra chatter about cotton’s troubling connection to race in America. Specifically, one self-described non-Black lady immediately requested the Reddit co-founder concerning the topic.
“I’m making an attempt to be extra understanding on the difficulty of ‘cotton’ as mulattos didn’t decide it, so it doesn’t resonate with me in the identical approach because it does with Black individuals. So I’ve to confess, I’m genuinely confused,” she wrote.
The lady continued, “Studying your publish, it sounds such as you’re sticking up for Serena right here, which is tremendous cute as her husband. However I’m confused about what you appear upset at. Is the difficulty Web page 6’s headline or that Serena was holding it within the first place? Like, what’s the ‘gotcha’ right here?”
Ohanian replied by sharing a screenshot of what seemed to be a ChatGPT-created response about Monument for a Promise. The AI assertion included an evidence that the piece is about “remembering disappointment” and “believing in a brighter tomorrow.”
Moreover, Ohanian scored co-signs for responding and serving as a defend for Williams. One individual applauded the web entrepreneur by posting, “If there’s one factor Alexis will do, it’s defend his lady!”
Bailey’s Monument for a Promise was featured in a 2021 profile of Williams’ Florida residence for Architectural Digest. The Olympic gold medalist had the paintings displayed within the residence’s formal sitting room.
“Whenever you stroll in, it’s like strolling into an artwork gallery,” Williams advised the century-old inside design journal. “That’s my favourite a part of the home. It’s so distinctive. I’ve by no means seen something prefer it.”
Williams and Ohanian first crossed paths in 2015 in Rome and commenced relationship that very same yr. In December 2016, Ohanian proposed to the Compton native on the identical Roman resort the place they met.
The couple received married in New Orleans in November 2017. Their first daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., was born two months earlier in September 2017. Williams gave beginning to a second daughter, Adira River Ohanian, in August 2023.
