Many people who decide to pursue a music career have to struggle to pay the bills, while others have supportive friends or relatives who help them out until they make it big. But "10 Things I Hate About You" singer Leah Kate went a different route: She was bankrolled by multimillionaire Alexis Ohanian, who co-founded Reddit.
"He's still a partner and investor in me, in my career," Leah tells ABC Audio. "But he was, like, the first person to ever believe in me and invest in me. I remember he DM'd me and was like, 'I want to invest in you. I love your songs.'"
Leah notes, "I looked him up and I knew who he was ... I was like, 'OK, this is a guy who owns Reddit. He's married to Serena Williams. Oh, my God.' And he ... gave me funding and was my partner so I could stay independent for so long, and gave me the resources to market my music and do what I needed to do."
In fact, Ohanian's involvement in Leah's career was documented by Rolling Stone back in 2020. It was her song "F**k Up the Friendship" that initially caught his ear, and he was able to help her via the music startup indify, in which he was an investor. And even now that she's got a hit and a record deal, Leah says she and Ohanian are still tight.
"Oh, my God. Yeah, we talk all the time. He's the best. Love him," she raves.
But what about Ohanian's wife, Serena?
Leah laughs, "So, Serena's, like, liked my comment before on Instagram, but I've never met or spoken to her. But I think she knows who I am, so that's kind of cool!"