‘Could’ve Kept This’: Serena Williams’ Husband Gets Online Beatdown — After Attempt to Defend Rubbing Elbows With Trump Backfires and He’s Exposed
Weeks after Donald Trump transformed the White House into his own personal MAGA playground, the cleanup has become almost as controversial as the event itself. […] ‘Could’ve Kept This’: Serena Williams’ Husband Gets Online Beatdown — After Attempt to Defend Rubbing Elbows With Trump Backfires and He’s Exposed
Black News 
Weeks after Donald Trump transformed the White House into his own personal MAGA playground, the cleanup has become almost as controversial as the event itself.
Images taken after his UFC Freedom 250 birthday bash show trash scattered around the executive mansion in the days following.
Critics loathed the celebration, but they picked apart far more than just its messy aftermath.
Trump’s guest list — including Mark Zuckerberg, Louis Prevost, Brother of Pope Leo XIV, and Joe Rogan — raised questions about the people he is choosing to elevate and align himself with.
Controversial comedian Tony Hinchcliffe—who still faces fallout over his George Floyd joke—also snagged a coveted seat.
The night turned sour after Heavyweight Josh Hokit’s brutal claim about former first lady Michelle Obama during a post-fight interview.
Outraged critics targeted not only Hokit but also Serena Williams’ husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
Cameras caught the 43-year-old entrepreneur was in the VIP section alongside several prominent Trump allies and tech figures.
The June 14 event, organized by TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of UFC, took place on the South lawn.
Ohanian’s mere presence was enough to spark immediate disappointment as many wondered how he felt about Hokit’s remarks.
Stephen A. Smith went OFF on UFC fighter Josh Hokit for calling Michelle Obama a “man” at UFC Freedom 250 and criticized Donald Trump for failing to speak up about how disgusting Josh’s comment was
— Slime
“It was inexcusable… That was an incredibly disparaging remark about one of… pic.twitter.com/xNrRf9rNW5(@ItsKingSlime) June 18, 2026
“@alexisohanian attending the UFC White House event is terrible. He has Black daughters and a Black wife. Just know that comment about Michelle Obama would definitely be directed toward your wife and kids. Shame shame,” one person wrote.
Another added, “So disappointing especially to choose to associate yourself with this horrible administration at this point in time. Like WTF is he thinking?!?”
After remaining silent for several days, Ohanian addressed the criticism on X on June 18.
“Lot of people asking me to comment: Yes, that fighter’s slur about former First Lady Michelle Obama was vile and inappropriate,” he wrote.
Lot of people asking me to comment: Yes, that fighter's slur about former First Lady Michelle Obama was vile and inappropriate.
— Alexis Ohanian
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…(@alexisohanian) June 18, 2026
He explained that he attended after receiving an invitation from TKO leadership due to his sports investments. He owns five teams and a league. Ohanian insisted he had already left before Hokit’s remarks. He claimed he was “already on my way home” and praised UFC CEO Dana White for condemning the statement.
“I had already headed home by the time he made those comments, and I am glad UFC CEO Dana White condemned them,” he said.
Ohanian departed around 11 p.m., still on Europe time after flying back from London.
He then reminded followers of one of the most consequential decisions of his career.
“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,” he wrote.
Others were still harsh, refusing to accept his response considering the obvious circumstances.
One commenter wrote, “You have a Black wife and daughter. You shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”
“You shouldn’t have been there. You’re an epic disappointment. With a dynamic and conscious Black wife and Black children being harmed by this administration, you put your cronies over your family AND this country. Shame on you,” another blasted.
One final critic added other thoughts.
“‘I own 5 pro sports teams’ isn’t the flex you think it is bro, it reveals that even the guy who is married to the greatest black female athlete in history has a bad case of white privilege,” they wrote.
They continued, “The point is if these those people you were hanging out with the White House think and say Michelle Obama is a man you know they’re saying the exact same thing about Serena because they’ve been saying it every day for years.”
In 2020, Ohanian resigned from Reddit’s board during nationwide protests following George Floyd’s murder, urging the company to replace him with a Black director and pushing the platform to do more to curb hate speech. At the time, he wrote that he wanted to be able to answer his Black daughter if she ever asked what he had done to fight racism.
Even that history failed to quiet many of his critics.
Someone else quipped, “You are acting like you’re doing somebody a favor by saying something. You could have kept this BS.”
Williams has not publicly addressed the controversy. She remains focused on her tennis comeback in London.
But online, many remained unconvinced. For a man who married one of the world’s most celebrated Black women and raises two Black daughters, his mere presence hit differently.
Damn you A.I. pic.twitter.com/dJfSLfw4Eq
— The Incredible Hok (@Josh_HokitUFC) June 18, 2026
Williams was thousands of miles away in London preparing for her return to competitive tennis at the Queen’s Club Championships before her upcoming Wimbledon appearance.
Days later, Hokit would repost an A.I. generated video, claiming that the backlash from the Princeton graduate was her “overreacting.” “I was just joking with her just a harmless comment with no bad intent but she took it and framed it as racism,” the fake voice claimed.The animated voice did acknowledge making statements like that at “White House wasn’t very respectful,”
He doubled down on his own victimization saying, “I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit. … I don’t understand why this one comment is being singled out. Is it because her last name is Obama or because of her skin color?”
