Serena Williams continues to garner criticism for promoting weight loss drugs, this time from Kheiston Boone, a fitness influencer. Boone came down heavily on the legendary tennis player, saying it’s understandable if Williams wants to invest, but she should definitely not be the ‘face’ of such a medication.
In August, Williams spoke about her weight loss journey, as she shed 31 lbs in eight months. The 44-year-old said that after not getting results from rigorous physical activity, she turned to Ro’s GLP-1, which is believed to help in weight loss. Her husband and Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, is an investor in the telehealth company, Ro.
Kheiston Boone slammed Serena Williams, opining that after years of hard work, the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s brand would take a hit for endorsing medications that might have side effects. The former World No. 1 is now an ambassador for Ro.
“Free Serena Williams from whatever 360 deal she’s in. I’m tired. For me, this has been a lesson on how some partnerships can derail the brand you spent decades, blood, sweat, and tears building and how strategic you have to be,” Boone wrote on her Threads account.
“She’s no longer known as the Serena Williams, the world-renowned champion, but as the weight loss injection girl. Yeah, no. Free her! I get that she’s an investor but I just don’t understand why she had to be the face of it. She’s too high up for this,” the fitness influencer added.
Williams had earlier claimed that she found it difficult to lose weight, particularly after the birth of her daughters, Olympia in 2017 and Adira River in 2023.
Since speaking about the said weight loss drug, Serena Williams has received backlash from fans as well as a few celebrities. Body-image speaker Alex Light and actress Jameela Jamil raised similar concerns that, in case of side effects, Williams can afford the best healthcare facilities, but the common man cannot.
“Be confident at any size” – Serena Williams says there was nothing wrong with her size earlier
During an interview with ‘People‘ magazine in August, Serena Williams opened up about her weight-loss journey. It was in this conversation that the icon stressed retaining confidence regardless of size.
The American said there was nothing wrong with her size earlier, but it’s not something she wants going forward.
“Weight loss should never really change your self image. Women often experience judgment about their bodies at any size, and I’m no stranger to that. So I feel like you should love yourself at any size and any look,” she said.
“With me going through what I’ve went through growing up in public and just having millions of people commenting on my body, it’s really important to teach them to be confident at any size, just like I try to be,” she added.
Williams retired from professional tennis in 2022 after a glorious career.
Edited by Parag Jain