Qai Qai
Qai Qai digitized

Qai Qai (/ˈkweɪkweɪ/)[1] is a doll belonging to Alexis Olympia Ohanian, the daughter of American professional tennis player and winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, Serena Williams, and co-founder of Reddit and Initialized Capital, Alexis Ohanian Sr. The doll became popular on social media in 2018, with many pictures of her face digitized and animated to have various expressions.

Background

Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams' daughter, Olympia, was born on September 1, 2017, in West Palm Beach, Florida.[2][3] When Williams bought the doll for Olympia, she indicated that she wanted her daughter's first doll to be black because growing up, she did not have many opportunities to own a black doll.[4][5] Qai Qai got her name from Williams's nephew.[6]

Social media presence

Qai Qai's first post on her own Instagram was on August 22, 2018, where she is lying on the floor.[7] She also joined Twitter that month, although the account has not been officially verified.[8]

Popularity and fandom has increased for Qai Qai. While likely run by Olympia's parents, Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian, it is unknown who administers the doll's account.[9] On September 23, in Alexis Ohanian's Instagram post, he did a shoutout to Invisible Universe for helping QaiQai pursue her dreams. Invisible Universe is "an entertainment technology company behind the most popular, celebrity-backed animated characters on social media including Squeaky & Roy (D'Amelio Family), Qai Qai (Serena Williams), Kayda & Kai (Karlie Kloss), and Crazynho (Dani Alves)." Some images show Qai Qai being neglected. This spurred public concern where social media fans used the hashtag #QQPS (Qai Qai Protective Services).[10]

Qai Qai has been featured in several USA Today articles,[11][12] Today[13] and Oprah magazine, the last of which she did an exclusive interview.[14]

On August 29, 2019, Alexis Ohanian Sr. wore a shirt with Qai Qai's likeness to the 2019 US Open match with Serena Williams vs. Caty McNally.[15] This same shirt was worn by Ohanian Sr. in an Instagram post on December 14, 2018.[16] Another Qai Qai shirt was featured on Ohanian Sr.'s Instagram post.[17] This selfie shirt was part of a limited run fundraiser for the non-profit organization Zoe’s Dolls, which was founded by an eleven year old with the mission of giving brown dolls away to brown kids.[18]

On December 2, 2019, @realqaiqai announced on Twitter that additional merchandise is available for Cyber Monday 2019 with a portion of proceeds going to Zoe's Dolls.[19]

On January 16, 2019, Tennis.com featured an article showing Qai Qai's social media presence [20]

On September 23, 2021, Alexis Ohanian was interviewed by PEOPLE, discussing Qai Qai and a new digital coloring book that has different careers the doll and her friends can take on including: fashion designer, film editor, game developer, structural engineer and small business owner.[21]

Digitalization

[22] Qai Qai is portrayed as a physical doll and has a digitized version with a full personality. Qai Qai appears animated facial expressions digitally created and inserted into photographs and has over 3.1 million followers on TikTok.[1][9]

Mass production

As of October 2020, Qai Qai dolls were being sold by Amazon.[23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Weaver, Caity (17 January 2019). "Wait — Is Qai Qai America's Most Important Doll?". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  2. ↑ Hautman, Nicholas; Lupo, Marc (1 September 2017). "Serena Williams Welcomes Her First Child!". Us Weekly. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  3. ↑ Elise Solé (13 September 2017). "Serena Williams's baby girl and the meaning behind her name". Yahoo!. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "Daughter's celebrity doll 'Qai Qai' holds special place in Serena Williams' family". www.msn.com. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  5. ↑ Willis, Kiersten (18 January 2019). "Serena Williams Explains Why It Was Important for Her Daughter's First Doll To Be Black". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  6. ↑ Darrisaw, Michelle (15 January 2019). "Who Is Qai Qai? Meet the Special Member of Serena Williams's Family". Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  7. ↑ Conaboy, Kelly (14 September 2018). "Meet Serena Williams's Daughter's Doll, Instagram Influencer". The Cut. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  8. ↑ "Qai Qai (@RealQaiQai)". Twitter. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  9. 1 2 Marine, Brooke. "Who Is the Mastermind Behind @RealQaiQai's Instagram Account?". W Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  10. ↑ "QaiQai has been found safe! Well sorta". 23 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "Venus Williams loves her niece's Qai Qai doll as much as social media does". USA TODAY. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  12. ↑ "Daughter's celebrity doll 'Qai Qai' holds special place in Serena Williams' family". USA TODAY. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  13. ↑ "Qai Qai, Serena Williams' daughter's doll, becomes Instagram star". TODAY.com. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  14. ↑ Davis, Arianna (28 February 2019). "Serena Williams's Doll Qai Qai Just Gave Her First Exclusive Interview". Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  15. ↑ "Tweet from @mrsmaryallen".
  16. ↑ "Alexis Ohanian Sr. on Instagram". 14 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  17. ↑ "Alexis Ohanian Sr. on Instagram". 16 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  18. ↑ "Qai Qai on Twitter". 12 January 2018.
  19. ↑ "Qai Qai on Twitter". 2 December 2019.
  20. ↑ "Tennis.com Qai Qai Gains Insane Social Media Fame". 16 January 2019.
  21. ↑ "PEOPLE Exclusive". 23 September 2021.
  22. ↑ Peter, Alex. "GrowthMount". Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  23. ↑ Campbell, Courtney (October 15, 2020). "You can finally buy Serena Williams' daughter's famous Qai Qai doll on Amazon". USA Today.
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