Serena Williams promoted a weight loss drug and credited the GLP-1 provider Ro for her body transformation in a controversial ad on Super Bowl Sunday.
The legendary tennis player, 44, has been facing criticism from fans for admitting she turned to weight loss drugs amid her post-playing, health journey.
Williams, a sports icon known for holding a total of Grand Slam tennis titles, became a sponsor for the brand last year.
She previously revealed that she lost over 30 pounds in a single year after turning to the GLP-1 drug after stepping back from her sports career.
In a teaser advertisement, that was aired ahead of the commercial to premiere during the Super Bowl LX, Williams teamed up with the telehealth provider Ro to promote weight loss.
She has been receiving significant backlash for the collaboration ahead of the commercial to air during America’s biggest NFL game.
Serena Williams sparked even more backlash with her Super Bowl LX commercial, during which she was spotted promoting GLP-1 weight loss drugs again
The legendary tennis player, 44, has been facing criticism from fans after she admitted she started using the weight loss jabs and partnered up with the telehealth provider Ro; pictured in November 2025
In the commercial that aired in the first half of the game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Williams was seen injecting the weight loss drug.
She was also seen making another order on Ro’s mobile app, revealing they are releasing a new version of the medication in pill-form.
In the advertisement, she explained that she not only lost weight but has reduced knee joint stress, steadied her blood sugar levels and lowered her cholesterol.
In August 2025, she admitted that she turned to the weight loss drug after giving birth because she was struggling to get back to the weight she ‘needed to be,’ per People.
She gave birth to her second child, daughter Adira River Ohanian, in August 2023.
In addition to Adira, Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian are also parents to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., eight.
‘I never was able to get to the weight I needed to be no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained. It was crazy because I’d never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at.’
She also told the outlet that she began using the weight loss drug in 2024 after she finished breast feeding her youngest daughter Adira.
In the commercial that aired in the first half of the game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Williams was seen injecting the weight loss drug
Williams was also seen making another order on Ro’s mobile app, revealing they are releasing a new version of the medication in pill-form
She partnered up with the GLP-1 provider last year and received backlash given her legendary sports career history
Wiliams, a sports icon known for holding a total of Grand Slam tennis titles, previously revealed that she lost over 30 pounds in a single year after turning to the GLP-1 drug; pictured in September 2019
‘I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best. So it was very frustrating to do all the same things and never be able to change that number on the scale or the way my body looked.’
Williams — whose husband Ohanian is also an investor in Ro and serves on its board — added at the time: ‘I lost over 31 pounds using my GLP-1 and I was really excited about that weight loss. I feel great. I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally.
At the beginning of the month, fans were anticipating exciting news after it was revealed Williams was set to announce a shock comeback in her Super Bowl commercial.
Rather than her potential return to tennis, fans turned to X to share their displeasure with her promoting GLP-1s.
Williams previously retired her tennis racquet at the 2022 US Open in New York City.
One fan tweeted on X, formerly Twitter, and said Williams ‘pushing weight loss drugs’ was ‘disgusting.’
Another person wrote that ‘we’re cooked’ because the ‘greatest tennis player of all time is on Ozempic.’
One fan tweeted on X, formerly Twitter, and said Williams ‘pushing weight loss drugs’ was ‘disgusting’
Another person wrote that ‘we’re cooked’ because the ‘greatest tennis player of all time is on Ozempic’
‘Serena Williams used to look so much better man what happened,’ another critic wrote in a harsh tweet
‘Known athlete, Serena Williams, pushing weight loss drugs on people was not on my Super Bowl bingo card,’ one person tweeted
One X user said it was a ‘shame’ that Williams was promoting the ‘controversial weight loss injection during the Super Bowl’
Another social media user added: ‘What is going on?’
Other people expressed a similar sentiment and called the GLP-1 commercials ‘absolutely disgusting’
Another person tweeted an emoji of their eyes closed in shame as they tweeted about this year’s Super Bowl commercials
‘Serena Williams used to look so much better man what happened,’ another critic wrote in a harsh tweet.
‘Known athlete, Serena Williams, pushing weight loss drugs on people was not on my Super Bowl bingo card,’ one person tweeted.
One X user said it was a ‘shame’ that Williams was promoting the ‘controversial weight loss injection during the Super Bowl.’
Another social media user added: ‘What is going on?’
Other people expressed a similar sentiment and called the GLP-1 commercials ‘absolutely disgusting.’
Another person tweeted an emoji of their eyes closed in shame as they tweeted about this year’s Super Bowl commercials.
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