Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian confronted ESPN host Stephen A. Smith on live television over previous comments Smith made about his marriage to tennis star Serena Williams.
The exchange occurred during Ohanian’s appearance on the Thursday episode of Smith’s show, “First Take.” Ohanian, who was in the studio while Smith appeared virtually, initiated the awkward conversation, Parade reports.
“Stephen A. Smith, I think you had some marriage advice for me. Is that right?” Ohanian asked.
Smith appeared flustered and attempted to deflect, responding, “listen, headlines are headlines. We can get into it another time.” Smith later added, “Oh, no, I am not qualified. Marital advice? Oh no, not me.”
Ohanian pointed out that he wished Smith was there for a face-to-face conversation and questioned his qualifications to give marital advice.
“I was gonna ask ‘cause you hadn’t been married before, right?” Ohanian said. “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.”
Smith did not respond, and host MJ Acosta-Ruiz intervened to end the conversation.
The confrontation stemmed from remarks Smith made on “First Take” in February following Williams’ cameo during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance.
At the time, Smith criticized Williams for dancing to Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” which was aimed at the rapper Drake, whom Williams was linked to in 2011.
“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,” Smith said on the February show. “What you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye. Bye.”
Williams addressed the controversy in an April interview with Time, stating her performance had nothing to do with Drake.
“Absolutely not,” she said, adding she would “never do that.” Williams said it was “sad that anyone would ever think that” and that she has “never had negative feelings towards him.”
This story was written with the assistance of AI.
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