Days after attending a controversial UFC-White House event, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian condemned MMA fighter Josh Hokit for calling former First Lady Michelle Obama “a man,” and addressed backlash over why he was there at all.
Days after stepping into a controversial UFC-White House moment, Alexis Ohanian made his position crystal clear—especially over a line aimed at former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Hokit, an MMA fighter who appeared at the UFC-White House event on Sunday, directed a derogatory comment at Obama, saying she is “a man” after his match. Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder married to tennis legend Serena Williams, posted on X on Wednesday to denounce it as “vile and inappropriate.”
“Lot of people asking me to comment: Yes, that fighter’s slur about former First Lady Michelle Obama was vile and inappropriate,” Ohanian wrote. He added that he had attended the event via invitation from TKO/IMG leadership, noting, “I own 5 pro sports teams + a league.”
Ohanian said he was already on his way home when the remarks were made. He also said he was “glad to see Dana [White] condemn them.”
He then pushed back on the idea that his silence before the post meant approval. “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,” Ohanian wrote.
Still, not everyone was satisfied. Several people on social media argued that Ohanian’s explanation didn’t erase the bigger optics of attending the event in the first place—particularly given the Trump administration’s anti-DEI policies.
“You could have declined that invite, despite your relation to the sports world,” one critic wrote on X. “Not a great look.”
Another commenter went further, writing, “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.”
A third response was blunt about respect: “Why were you there in the first place? This explanation is weak and I have lost all respect for you.”
Ohanian’s condemnation aligns with other high-profile voices who rejected Hokit’s words about Obama. UFC CEO Dana White also condemned the remark, saying he was “completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families.”
Even beyond the UFC orbit, backlash has broadened online. Fox News columnist David Marcus posted on X that the remark was unacceptable. writing. “The fighter yelling ‘Michelle Obama is a man. ’ at an official White House event to honor America is utterly unacceptable and the administration should denounce it in no uncertain terms. I’ve defended the administration’s America 250 plans. because I trusted they really would be non-partisan. really would bring us together. But I was wrong.”.
Democratic Texas Congressman Christian Menefee described the moment as something no policy can fix. He wrote. “They really let a UFC fighter call our only Black First Lady a man on the White House lawn at an official White House event … while thousands cheered and the biggest podcaster in the world smiled. There is no economic policy fix for this. Many of these people are just racist.”.
So far, Hokit has not personally apologized to Obama for the remark.
The fight over what was said—and who should have been in that room—has now become its own headline, with Ohanian insisting his presence wasn’t a signal of support, and critics arguing the optics still don’t hold.
Alexis Ohanian Josh Hokit Michelle Obama UFC White House event Dana White Serena Williams Reddit X backlash anti-DEI policies Dana White condemned remarks
If someone called Michelle Obama a man that’s just gross. End of story.
I feel like Alexis is doing the most just to cover optics. Like he shoulda not even been at the UFC White House thing in the first place, regardless of what he posted after.
Wait so he said he was on his way home when it happened… but he was literally there. That part doesn’t make sense to me, like how’s it already not his business if he’s sitting in the same building. Also “I own teams”?? Ok cool, that’s not an argument.
This whole thing is messy. Michelle Obama “a man” like… that’s not even how gender works lol. But also why are sports people always getting pulled into politics like DEI or whatever, can’t we just watch fights? And the UFC White House event sounds like a setup for drama anyway.