Alexis Ohanian stood by his wife, Serena Williams, in defense of her recent family photos. The 42-year-old responded to the tennis legend's X post, which featured images of their two daughters, Adira (2) and Olympia (8), wearing matching light blue dresses. Serena, 44, captioned the photos: "Joy does not always roar; sometimes it whispers. It's important to savor those sweet moments... I love this picture, so I wanted to share it with you."
Ohanian chimed in, "Where are all the comments from idiots who don’t understand how photography lighting works?" A user retorted, "Alexis wants Black people to believe we don’t know what photography lighting looks like vs blatant skin lightening." This prompted Ohanian to clarify, "Or: photos from the same event can look different based on lighting."
Williams has previously denied accusations of skin bleaching. During an Instagram Live on December 2, the 23-time Grand Slam champion addressed the claims, stating that she purposely altered her complexion after sharing a video of herself at a school event with Ohanian and their daughters.
While doing a makeup tutorial for her Wyn Beauty brand, the former athlete weighed in on the topic. "And then I put just that neutral color, that is actually my skin color, and no, for you haters out there, I do not bleach my skin," she said as she applied her makeup.
"There is a thing called sunlight, and in that sunlight, you get different colors," she continued. Williams explained that she was volunteering at her daughter's play when she recorded the now-viral video from late November and was wearing "stage makeup."
"Yes, I'm calling you out on this because it is ridiculous," Williams said before stating that she is proud of who she is. "Everyone's like, 'Oh, she bleached her skin.' I'm a dark, Black woman, and I love who I am and how I look," the pro athlete continued. "That type of alteration is just not my thing."
"And if people do it, that's their thing, and they have every opportunity. I don't judge, but you guys do," she added. "But that's what this world is about. I stay in my lane—the non-judgy one—and I keep it. But no, I actually don't bleach my skin. So can we just kinda clear that up?" Williams concluded.
