What did Serena Williams have to do with the Super Bowl halftime show? A lot, actually
Serena Williams is known for her killer moves on the tennis court, but it’s her dance moves that have fans spiraling after the Super Bowl.
The athlete made a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 9.
The camera panned to Williams during Lamar’s song “Not Like Us” and showed the 43-year-old dancing like a pro for a few seconds.
As she moved to the beat, the athlete raised her hands and kicked her feet as she swayed from side to side in a dance move known as crip-walking (more on that later).
After the Super Bowl, Williams took to X to reflect on her moment in the spotlight.
“Man, I did not crip-walk like that at Wimbledon. Oh, I would’ve been fined. It was all love,” she said, referencing the instance she was criticized for doing the same moves after her Wimbledon victory in 2012.
On Instagram, she wrote of her performance, “I died a little!”
Williams’ appearance in the halftime show is also raising eyebrows because Lamar brought her out on stage during a song that’s commonly known as a diss to Drake. Lamar and Drake feuded over the years, culminating in a series of diss tracks about one another last summer — and a lawsuit.
Add to the mix that Williams and Drake also dated, and you’ll see why the tennis champion’s appearance was so potent.
What is a crip walk? Serena Williams’ history with the dance
Crip-walking is a dance move that derives its name from the Crips, a Los Angeles street gang.
According to the book “Hip Hop Around the World,” the crip walk originated in California in the early 1970s.
The footwork, when the move started, was meant to spell out words, especially C-R-I-P. “As the dance developed over time, leg movements such as bending the knees and then straightening to create a pumping action or pointing the feet outward from the knees then sliding the feet in unison also became common,” the encyclopedia entry, written by humanities professor Anthony J. Fonseca, explains.
Anything that’s associated with gang life is often mired in controversy, and crip-walking is no exception. In 2002, some Los Angeles schools banned the move from parties and proms, per the Los Angeles Times.
Williams herself made headlines for crip-walking in 2012 after beating Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon. The Guardian at the time captured Williams fielding questions about it at a press conference three weeks after the winning match. “All people know that the crip walk is not just a dance,” a journalist said.
Williams responded, per the Guardian, “It was just a dance. I didn’t know that’s what it was called. Second, why are you asking me that? If anything, you should be trying to ask me questions to lift me up not bring such things … I’m done with that question.”
Both Lamar and Williams grew up in Compton, California. It’s also the city where Williams’ half-sister, Yetunde Price, was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2003. A local gang member was later convicted of Price’s murder.
After Williams was essentially cancelled for crip-walking in 2012, her Super Bowl performance brought mixed reactions from social media users. Some were impressed with her dance moves, including one X user who commented, “I saw you and screamed, ‘That’s Serena, I know that crip walk!’”
Another wrote, “I think half of my neighborhood heard me screaming your name! Looking good.”
Still, some X users wondered why Williams would do a dance that’s associated with gangs given the way her sister died.
“Was kinda of shocked…. Always figured you as more class than crip walking on live TV given your sister’s situation. Still love ya but shocked!” one commented.
This isn’t the first time Williams has publicly crip-walked since Wimbledon, however. She also did the move at the ESPY Awards during her opening monologue in July 2024 — and happened to mention Lamar and Drake’s beef.
“If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us — not a single one of us, not even me — should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar,” she said.
When the song “Not Like Us” began to play, Williams briefly crip-walked then said, “He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re going to ‘Forrest Gump’ him. Seat’s taken!”
What Serena Williams’ history with Drake has to do with this
Williams has been married to Alexis Ohanian since 2017 and the couple shares two children. But once upon a time, Williams dated Drake, a rapper known for hits like “Hotline Bling” and “Hold On, We’re Going Home.”
Drake references Serena in a few of his songs, including the 2013 song “Worst Behavior,” where he raps, “I swear I could beat Serena when she playin’ with her left.”
The rapper also name-dropped the tennis player in his 2022 song “Middle of the Ocean,” where he rapped, “Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie.”
Ohanian appeared to address the diss in a post on X, writing, “The reason I stay winning is because I’m relentless about being the absolute best at whatever I do — including being the best groupie for my wife & daughter.”
Williams responded with a string of hearts.
Lamar, meanwhile, also has sung about Williams. In the Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” Lamar suggests that Drake “better not speak on Serena.”
“Not Like Us” also levels more serious accusations against Drake. In “Not Like Us,” Lamar raps, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young/ You better not ever go to cell block one.” He later says, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles,” a play on Drake’s 2021 album, “Certified Lover Boy.”
Drake has since filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, which represents both Drake and Lamar, for defamation and harassment, saying that the company helped to spread a “false and malicious” narrative about him.
During the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, Lamar didn’t use the word “pedophile” when he performed “Not Like Us,” but he seemed to pretend to pat a child’s head while saying, “Drake, I hear you like ‘em young.”
X users had a range of mixed reactions to the performance. For starters, some didn’t know Williams dated Drake.
“I’m prolly the only person who didn’t know Serena Williams & Drake was ever even a thing,” one wrote.
Some social media users were entertained by Williams’ cameo, including one who commented, “Kendrick bringing one of Drake’s exes out to literally dance on his grave was so good.”
Others were confused about the rationale behind Williams’ appearance, including one who wrote, “I don’t understand the logic in Kendrick bringing Serena Williams, Drakes older ex-girlfriend, onstage to dance to a song about Drake being a pedophile.”
In the midst of all the chatter, some X users stopped to remind the world that Williams isn’t just someone’s ex-girlfriend appearing at the Super Bowl.
“The fact that people are marginalizing that cameo to her being Drake’s ex is appalling.. That’s Fkn SERENA WILLIAMS! One of the all time best athletes in the world! Crip Walking at the MF Super Bowl reppin Compton! Put some respect on her name!!” one wrote.
What did Alexis Ohanian say about the half time performance?
“Pretty fantastic halftime show,” Ohanian wrote as the show unfolded.
He gamely played along with fans’ theories, too.
“Serena’s husband prolly set her clothes out the night before like it was the first day of school the next day,” one person tweeted.
Another tagged Ohanian asking him to “confirm or deny.” Ohanian replied with a photo of Lamar at the moment that he sings, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young.”
