‘He doesn’t listen to me ever,’ says Serena on claims she forced husband to resign from Reddit
Ohanian called for his seat on the board of the social news company to be given to a black candidate.
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and his wife Serena Williams attend the HBO New York Premiere of “Being Serena” in New York in 2018. AFP/File/ANGELA WEISS
Tennis star Serena Williams has denied claims that she forced her husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to resign from the board of the tech company.
In the latest instalment of Serena Saturday, she said she did not expect the resignation to dominate headlines.
She said: “It was shocking to everyone, definitely to me… This is all Alexis, which is really cool. A lot of people may think that I told you to do something, or that I forced you, or that I was in your ear … he doesn’t listen to me ever! So that’s not the case.”
Ohanian said stepping down from a company he started right out of college was not an easy decision, further saying he knew it was in the best interest of the company.
“Upon reflecting on where the country is right now, I thought about what I could do beyond a social media post, beyond the donation, but really lead by stepping down from the board position to make way for a black candidate. We need diversity at the highest levels of business now more than ever. It will be in the best interests of Reddit for that to happen,” he said.
Watch their full interview below:
Ohanian called Friday for his seat on the board of the social news company to be given to a black candidate.
Ohanian said in an online post that he resigned from the board of Reddit, which he co-founded 15 years ago.
He vowed to use any future gains on his stock in the enterprise to serve the black community, predominantly by curbing racial hate.
Ohanian also pledged a million dollars to former NFL star Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.
“It’s long overdue to do the right thing,” Ohanian said in a video posted online.
“I’m saying this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?'”
Ohanian and Williams married three years ago and have one child.
“I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now,” said the 37-year-old Reddit co-founder.
“To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop.”
Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman said in a blog post this week that the online bulletin board is exploring what it can do to give people a voice and be an impetus for change when it comes to racial justice.
“We work for this platform because we care deeply about community and belonging,” Huffman said.
“But community and belonging are not possible without safety from violence, and now is the time to stand in solidarity with the black members of our communities.”
Reddit last year “quarantined” a popular forum of supporters of President Donald Trump, claiming users repeatedly violated platform rules by promoting violence.
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