Serena Williams Slammed for ‘Disgusting’ Super Bowl Advert

Tennis legend Serena Williams has received backlash from fans on social media after appearing in an advert during the Super Bowl.

On Sunday, Super Bowl LX took place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The Seattle Seahawks produced a brilliant display to beat the New England Patriots 29-13.

Puerto Rican artist Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known professionally as Bad Bunny, was the star of the halftime show, performing hits like 'Tití Me Pregunto' and 'BAILE INoLVIDABLE'.

Meanwhile, tennis legend Williams, 44, was seen in an advert promoting the weight-loss drug GLP-1 for telehealth provider Ro.

It is known that Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, is an investor in Ro and serves on the company's board.

The commercial was shown during the first half of Seahawks vs Patriots, and the 23-time Grand Slam winner was seen injecting the GLP-1 and ordering a new pill-form version through Ro's mobile app.

However, her appearance in the commercial has attracted criticism from fans on social media.

One fan said: "Why was Serena Williams in a GLP-1 ad? What’s going on there??"

Another tweeted: "Like why would Serena Williams, one of the most athletic female athletes of all time promote such a product. She should be out showing, teaching, people how to become fit the natural, safe way."

A third fan added: "Serena Williams pushing weight loss drugs...disgusting."

Someone else wrote: "Known athlete, Serena Williams, pushing weight loss drugs on people was not on my Super Bowl bingo card."

A fifth commented: "A rare Serena Williams L."

However, some fans backed Williams, saying: "Guys she can do whatever she wants, your choice to follow or not."

Another fan said: "Serena will forever be the GOAT."

Professional tennis star Holger Rune, however, has defended Williams, claiming that 'we should not shame' when it comes to her method of weight loss.

"Being overweight comes with a health risk, like alcohol and seeking help to overcome personal challenges is always the right thing to do," he wrote on Twitter.

"I think it's great that Serena Williams don't pretend it just happened overnight, but openly inform about what she did to achieve her personal goals in terms of her body.

"There is not one right or wrong way here, there is only the way that is good for you and we should not shame on this."

What did Serena Williams say about her own weight loss journey?

Williams herself has previously admitted that she turned to GLP-1 in order to return to a weight that 'she needed to be at'.

As per the Daily Mail, Williams said to People: "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.

"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."

She added: "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."