When it comes to equality in sports, Alexis Ohanian never misses the mark. The tech mogul owns a women’s soccer team, funds all-female track events with jaw-dropping prizes, and stands tall for women’s sports like few others. But fighting for equality is one thing, standing guard for family is another. And recently, when Serena Williams proudly displayed a meaningful cotton art piece in her Florida home before NYC hotel comments sparked fan outrage, Alexis was there, fierce and unflinching. His love roars louder than the storm, proving that when it comes to Serena, he defends with fire.

During a recent trip to New York City, the 23-time Grand Slam champion shared IG stories capturing cotton plant decorations in the hallway of her Manhattan hotel. She was in the city for Kim Kardashian’s NikeSKIMS launch event, but her focus shifted when she saw the cotton as decoration. Filming the arrangement, she asked her followers, “How do we feel about cotton as decoration?” and followed with, “Personally, for me, it doesn’t feel great.” Her words carried weight, striking a nerve across social media.

When media outlet Page Six picked up the story, it added fuel to the fire by referencing the cotton artwork in Williams’ Miami home. That mention didn’t sit well with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, the outspoken Reddit co-founder and vocal supporter of women’s rights. Ohanian swiftly took to social media, resharing the story and calling out the coverage. He wrote, “Folks entitled to have their opinions, but to use owning Radcliffe Bailey’s Monument for a Promise as some kind of a ‘gotchya’ is so breathtakingly stupid—there is some very obvious symbolism of the cotton in the artwork.”

Williams didn’t just observe the cotton; she engaged with it, plucking a ball from its branch in the NYC hotel and remarking that “it feels like nail polish remover cotton.” Her discomfort was clear, and it spoke volumes. To her, this was not just interior design but a painful reminder of a brutal past. Cotton, for many African Americans, is tied to centuries of slavery, forced labor, and generational trauma. For Serena, seeing it stripped of meaning and displayed as mere decoration felt unsettling and even offensive.

Ohanian’s fiery defense wasn’t just about an artwork; it was about protecting Serena’s voice and the deeper meaning behind her feelings. He reminded critics that context matters, and that Bailey’s work was never meant as décor but as a historical reflection. His post made waves, drawing attention to the difference between art that challenges and decorations that sanitize history.

Radcliffe Bailey, the artist behind “Monument for a Promise,” was celebrated for weaving African American history into his work. The piece in question features a concrete donkey carrying a trunk of cotton on its back, symbolizing the weight of slavery’s past. Bailey’s art forces viewers to confront painful truths rather than ignore them. Williams and Ohanian made it clear that while art can speak truth to power, casual use of cotton as decoration risks erasing that truth entirely. 

And to be honest, the entrepreneur has always been her unwavering pillar, even celebrating her legendary match moments in a bold, unconventional way that captured hearts worldwide.

Serena Williams’ iconic match moment revived by viral Alexis clip

This July, Alexis Ohanian lit up social media with a hilarious video on his X handle. His caption said it all: “Team Black Coffee is UNDEFEATED.” With infectious energy, he showed off his mug and hyped the drink that kick-starts his day.

“Very simple. It’s coffee. Single origin, Ethiopian. Good choice. I can already tell. It’s got a great note. I drink it black because that’s what adults do. And anyone who adds things to their coffee is clearly a child.” His proud laugh echoed a moment that tennis fans could never forget.

Nearly a decade earlier, Serena Williams delivered her own coffee classic at the 2015 Hopman Cup in Perth. Jetlagged, drained, and trailing 6-0 against Flavia Pennetta in the scorching heat, Serena knew she needed a reset. With a big laugh, she asked the chair umpire if coffee was legal before ordering a shot right on court.

“I was just feeling it, so I just had to get some coffee into me,” Serena said after. “I just asked them to get me a shot of espresso — I asked them if it was legal, because I’ve never done it before. I needed to wake up.” The espresso worked magic, and Serena stormed back to win 6-3, 6-0.

Their bond has always thrived on moments like these. In May 2015, playful breakfast banter at Rome’s Cavalieri Hotel led to Serena inviting Alexis to the French Open, sealing a connection built on love, respect, and shared humor.