Alexis Ohanian does not play about Serena Williams — and he proved that again on Thursday when he confronted news commentator Stephen A. Smith for his remarks about Serena’s viral Super Bowl performance.

Eddie Keogh – The Fa / Getty Images, Noam Galai / Getty Images, Medios Y Media / Getty Images

Serena notably appeared onstage during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime set, dancing to the Drake diss “Not Like Us.” Her performance caused a huge stir at the time — mostly because she and Drake were rumored to have dated years ago.

Emilee Chinn / Getty Images, Kevin Mazur / Getty ImagesWhile Serena never confirmed the relationship, they reportedly had a rocky past. Drake even referenced her in some of his songs, including his 2016 hit “Too Good,” and later jabbed at Alexis on the 2022 song “Middle of the Ocean,” calling him a “groupie.”

On an episode of First Take, Stephen and other hosts debated Serena’s performance. While some defended her, pointing out her and Kendrick’s shared connection to Compton, Stephen found it inappropriate for a married woman. 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?”

ESPN / Via Twitter: @awfulannouncing

Alexis addressed those comments directly when he appeared on First Take Thursday. “Stephen A. Smith, I think you had some marriage advice for me. Is that right?” he asked.

ESPN / Via Twitter: @awfulannouncing

Stephen looked caught off-guard, stumbling over his words before backpedaling. “Listen, headlines are headlines. We can get into that another time,” he replied.

ESPN

When Alexis said he was hoping Stephen would be “here” so they could discuss it face-to-face, Stephen said, “Oh, no, I am not qualified. Marital advice? Oh no, not me.”

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“I was gonna ask ’cause you hadn’t been married before, right?” Alexis asked. “Yeah, ’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 in the advice department.”

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The clip quickly went viral online. One person wrote, “Damn cooked him.” Another agreed Alexis “absolutely wrecked him.”

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“That was embarrassing,” one TikTok user commented.

Another added, “I love Alex. Everybody needs a Alex Ohanian in their life, cause you’re not gonna talk about his wife.”

“This is why I love her husband he don’t play about his family,” someone else wrote.

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“‘I was hoping you were gonna be here’ -6’5 Alexis Ohanian, a man who has NEVER PLAYED about his wife,” another person wrote.

One more deemed Alexis’s response “so attractive.”

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