Serena Williams opened up on using GLP-1 medication before doing controversial Super Bowl commercial
Despite Serena Williams' Super Bowl ad promoting weight loss drugs being met with criticism online, it turns out the athlete is no stranger to the medication.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion said in the commercial that she credits the GLP-1 medication for helping her lose 34 pounds.
Williams claimed the weight loss drugs, supplied by American telehealth company Ro, contributed to the drop in weight. Her husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian was an early investor of the business in 2017.
"I'm on Ro. 34 pounds down on Ro. Healthier on Ro. Supported by Ro. FDA-approved, GLP-1 options now even in a pill," she said.
Advert
"Weight loss expertise that I trust. I'm moving better on Ro. I'm feeling better on Ro. I'm Serena Williams. This is me on Ro."
Take a look at the ad here:
This isn't the first time the athlete has been candid about her weight loss journey, however.
In an admission to PEOPLE last year, the 44-year-old revealed that she struggled to lose weight after the birth of her second daughter in 2023.
Speaking to TODAY.com in 2025, Williams said she 'tried everything' to lose weight after having kids but nothing worked.
The tennis legend, who retired in 2022, said: "This all started after I had my (first) kid. As a woman, you go through different cycles in your life.
"No matter what I did — running, walking, I would walk for hours because they say that's good, I literally was playing a professional sport — and I could never go back to where I needed to be for my health.
"Then, after my second kid, it just even got harder. So then I was like, OK, I have to try something different.
"That's kind of what led to this whole journey. Do I want to choose health? What do I want to do?"
Over on X, however, Super Bowl viewers couldn't understand why a woman who was once a prime athlete at the top of her game was promoting a drug to lose weight.
"Serena Williams is doing GLP-1 ads is so sad because she’s always been beautiful and natural," one person tweeted.
Another fumed: "This is so f**king ridiculous and backwards Serena Williams is a retired tennis legend her body has won her so many awards and titles why the f**k is she promoting GLP-1. The GLP-1 commercials are absolutely disgusting."
And a third continued: "They target not only obese people but also those with perfectly healthy (looking) bodies. That's why they feature Serena Williams in their Super Bowl ad—to show that even a non-overweight athlete uses the drug. It's a vanity drug."
LADbible Group has contacted Ro and Serena Williams for comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Health, Super Bowl, US News
Anish Vij