Michelle Obama just faced some seriously disrespectful behavior, and Alexis Ohanian made it clear he won’t stand for it. The Reddit co-founder condemned an MMA fighter’s vile comments about the former First Lady, and he wanted everyone to know he wasn’t even there when it went down.
At a UFC-White House event, fighter Josh Hokit made an inappropriate slur about Michelle Obama after his Sunday match. But Ohanian? He was already heading home. The tech entrepreneur, who’s married to Serena Williams and owns five pro sports teams, addressed the backlash on X, calling Hokit’s comment “vile and inappropriate.”
“Lot of people asking me to comment,” Ohanian wrote on X, before laying into what he called “that fighter’s slur about former First Lady Michelle Obama.” He made a point to clarify his timeline, explaining that he’d been invited by TKO/IMG leadership but had already left by the time Hokit made his comments.
The internet was quick to respond. UFC CEO Dana White condemned the remarks, calling them “completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families.” Columnist David Marcus echoed those sentiments, calling the incident “utterly unacceptable.”
Ohanian also took the moment to remind people of his track record when it comes to standing up for what’s right. “For context: I resigned in protest from Reddit,” he noted, referencing his 2020 decision to step down from the company he co-founded. His reason? He wanted Reddit to take stronger action against communities promoting hate and violence. That’s the kind of freedom struggle we need to see more of in spaces of power.
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