Alexis Ohanian Faces Backlash After Explaining Trump UFC Event Appearance

So Alexis Ohanian, tech bro, Reddit co-founder, husband of Serena Williams, flew from the UK to DC just in time to attend Donald Trump’s vile UFC birthday bash on the White House lawn. And now that he’s getting absolutely cooked on social media for cozying up to these people, he’s finally decided to explain himself.

Because here’s the thing, Alexis attended the event where UFC fighter Josh Hokit later called Michelle Obama “a man” to a cheering crowd that included the President of the United States. And then he went home to his Black wife and biracial daughters. The same wife who has been called “manly” throughout her entire career. And he stayed silent for three days.

When he finally spoke up, this is what he gave us:

“Lot of people asking me to comment: Yes, that fighter’s slur about former First Lady Michelle Obama was vile and inappropriate.

I attended the UFC event via invitation from TKO/IMG leadership (I own 5 pro sports teams + a league). I was already on my way home when those comments were made and was glad to see Dana condemn them.

For context: I resigned in protest from Reddit (the company I co-founded and built for over a decade) specifically to push it to curb communities for hate and violence on the site.”

Alexis Ohanian X Statement

Alexis Ohanian’s statement attempting to justify his attendance at Donald Trump’s White House UFC event has landed with a resounding thud. And it’s not hard to see why.

Ohanian’s first justification, that he attended “via invitation from TKO/IMG leadership” because he “owns 5 pro sports teams + a league”, is not a valid defense. An invitation is not a summons. Wealth and business connections do not compel attendance at events hosted by individuals whose rhetoric and policies target the very communities his own family belongs to. This was a choice, pure and simple.

His second point, that he was “already on my way home” when the vile comments about Michelle Obama were made, misses the mark entirely. He was still present at an event celebrating a president who has built a political career on division. Leaving early does not absolve one of the decision to attend in the first place.

And then there’s the Reddit deflection. Resigning from his company’s board in 2020 to protest hate speech was a commendable act. But calling back to a single action from six years ago as justification for present-day choices is a logical fallacy. One good deed does not grant a lifetime pass.

The response to his statements has been characteristically blunt. “Great example for your daughters,” one commenter noted. Another observed: “As a white man married to a Black woman and the father of two Black girls, your ass shouldn’t have attended that klan fest PERIOD.” The sentiment is clear: this was a failure of judgment.

The cognitive dissonance is striking. Ohanian has carefully cultivated an image as a feminist ally, a supporter of women’s sports through his Athlos track event, and a devoted husband to Serena Williams. Yet at a moment when those values were most tested, he chose business networking over basic human decency.

An invitation is not a summons. When accepting means lending your presence to a room full of people who mock and demean everything your family represents, the only acceptable response is a hard pass. Alexis Ohanian flew from the UK to Washington for this. He could have stayed home. He should have stayed home. But when you own 5 sports teams and a league, apparently common sense doesn’t apply.