Serena Williams' a 'Sellout': Legendary Tennis Star Accused of 'Using Massive 31-Pound Weight Loss to Promote Controversial Diet Medication'
Serena Williams showed off her 31-pound weight loss in a series of new photos.
Aug. 21 2025, Published 6:45 p.m. ET
Serena Williams is being grand slammed for using her recent successful 31-pound weight loss to promote a GLP-1 company, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Fans say the tennis champ is trying to "mislead" them with hidden advertisements as she showed off her svelte body.
The tennis star has agreed to be an online ambassador to telehealth company Ro.
Williams recently signed a deal to become a brand ambassador for telehealth company Ro, which offers cheaper, generic versions of weight loss drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy.
The 43-year-old, who retired from professional tennis in 2022, will headline a multi-year national marketing campaign for their version of the highly coveted GLP-1 drugs.
On Thursday, the company released a trove of publicity shots featuring the 23-time Grand Slam winner using its medicine. She accompanied that with a promotional Instagram post and made the morning talk show rounds to revel in her weight loss.
"I was on and off (the medication) and now completely on," she told Today. "It was a really good decision I had to make for my life, you know, I tried everything."
Negative Fan Feedback
Fans complained the new photos looked like an ad campaign in disguise.
However, fans felt the ad campaign was not a "really good decision" and flooded Reddit with their disapproval.
"Interested at first, but then it became obvious it’s an ad," one person said. "Actually quite disappointed in her, as personally I don’t believe medications should be advertised like this."
Another person echoed: "She just became the biggest sellout ever. Like I already thought it was embarrassing to be an athlete and be in every single fast food ad, but this is a whole new level."
While one medical expert questioned: "As someone who used to work in biotech, I'm confused as to how it's legal. There are very specific regulations about drug ads and their contents that this does not meet.
"There must be a loophole in the law or something, but either way, ads like this are considered really unethical in the bio world."
Skin-Bleaching Claims
Serena went on a publicity tour touting her weight loss.
It's not the first time her appearance has come under question. Last year, she hit back at skin-bleaching claims after a viral video stirred up a scandal.
Trolls suggested she looked lighter in "stage makeup" for her daughter's play.
In an Instagram Live video, she countered: "No, for you haters out there, I do not bleach my skin. There is a thing called sunlight and in that sunlight you get different colors."
Serena's Stage Makeup
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She documented her strength conditioning and weight loss online.
Williams explained how in the recent video that fueled the skin bleaching rumors, she was wearing "stage makeup" while volunteering at her daughter Olympia’s school play – where she helped out with the event for the six-year-old.
She continued: "It is ridiculous that everyone is like 'Oh, she bleaches her skin.' I'm a dark black woman and I love who I am and I love how I look. And that's just not my thing.
"And if people do it that's their thing, and they have every opportunity, and they should, I don't judge."
She then reiterated: "But no, I actually don't bleach my skin. So can we just kind of clear that up?"
