--- title: The Meaning Behind Serena Williams’ Super Bowl Cameo description: The tennis champion did a crip walk dance as Kendrick Lamar performed his Drake diss track “Not Like Us.” canonical: https://time.com/7214650/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show/ author: Miranda Jeyaretnam article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-02-10T07:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:11.889Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The Meaning Behind Serena Williams’ Super Bowl Cameo og:description: The tennis champion did a crip walk dance as Kendrick Lamar performed his Drake diss track “Not Like Us.” og:url: https://time.com/7214650/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20bae2c726727ba2/6998b370e2d64bf632c5d332/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Meaning Behind Serena Williams’ Super Bowl Cameo twitter:description: The tennis champion did a crip walk dance as Kendrick Lamar performed his Drake diss track “Not Like Us.” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20bae2c726727ba2/6998b370e2d64bf632c5d332/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Meaning Behind Serena Williams Dancing During the Super Bowl Halftime Show > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Serena Williams Says Goodbye to the Sport She Changed Forever [Watch (HLS stream): Serena Williams Says Goodbye to the Sport She Changed Forever](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ex1VFn2B.m3u8) (2:45)  _Published 2022-08-29. Serena Williams—arguably the greatest athlete of all time—spoke to TIME’s Sean Gregory about her decision to move away from tennis and into the next chapter of her life. As she prepares to bid farewell at the U.S. Open, she reflects on her legacy on tennis, motherhood, and more._  by [Miranda Jeyaretnam](https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/)  ## Miranda Jeyaretnam Reporter Feb 10, 2025 7:00 AM UTC  Serena Williams performs during the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025. Serena Williams performs during the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025.Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for Roc Nation  by [Miranda Jeyaretnam](https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/)  ## Miranda Jeyaretnam Reporter Feb 10, 2025 7:00 AM UTC It was a brief but blockbuster cameo. For less than five seconds in the closing moments of the 2025 Super Bowl [halftime show](https://time.com/7214228/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-halftime-show-analysis/), as headliner [Kendrick Lamar](https://time.com/7213750/kendrick-lamar-superbowl-halftime-pop-essay/) performed his [Grammy-award winning](https://time.com/7210740/grammys-2025-recap/) Drake [diss track](https://time.com/6975027/kendrick-lamar-drake-beef-explained-timeline/) “Not Like Us,” the [camera flipped](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDorKy-13ak&t=686s) to the corner of the stage to show 43-year-old tennis all-time-great [Serena Williams](https://time.com/6208915/serena-williams-retirement-interview/) crip walking. Williams’ appearance was notable for several reasons: Like Lamar, she grew up in Compton, the California city known for its [significance to the history of hip-hop](https://uproxx.com/music/how-la-changed-the-course-of-hip-hop-history/). Also like Lamar, Williams is not the biggest fan of Drake, to put it mildly. The two were rumored to have dated years ago, with Drake referencing Williams in his 2013 song “Worst Behavior” and again in his 2022 song “Middle of the Ocean,” in which he derided her now-husband Alexis Ohanian as a “groupie.” Lamar even mentions Williams in the [lyrics](https://genius.com/31642677) of “Not Like Us,” seemingly telling Drake he “better not speak on Serena.” While hosting last year’s ESPY Awards, Williams [teased](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/serena-williams-drake-kendrick-lamar-not-like-us-2024-espys-1235729596/), “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,” before dancing to “Not Like Us.” “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. Seats taken.” Williams also has a personal connection to the specific dance she performed on the Super Bowl stage. It recalled her celebration at the Wimbledon court in London after beating Maria Sharapova to secure the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. At the time, she faced an onslaught of criticism for what commentators described as crass and inappropriate. “What Serena did was akin to cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church,” Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock [said](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/crip-walk-dance-serena-williams%5Fn%5F1747593). Others, like _Los Angeles Times_ sports columnist [Bill Plaschke](https://x.com/BillPlaschke/status/231878342746443776), suggested the dance [glamorized gang violence](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185066/Serena-Williams-SLAMMED-glamourising-gang-culture-Crip-Walk-dance-Olympic-win.html). “It was just a dance,” Williams, whose older sister Yetunde Price was [killed](https://people.com/crime/serena-venus-williams-sister-yetunde-price-murdered/) by a member of the Southside Crips gang in 2003, responded when questioned in 2012. More than 12 years later, however, she still remembers the backlash, which defenders long claimed was [overblown and racist](https://www.essence.com/news/real-talk-serenas-c-walk-is-it-really-that-deep/): “Man, I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon. Ooh, I would’ve been fined,” Williams joked on social media on Sunday night. Williams’ [Super Bowl halftime-show](https://time.com/7214281/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-halftime-show/) cameo quickly took the internet by storm. “serena ate that” 20-year-old tennis star [Coco Gauff](https://time.com/collection/time100-leadership-series/6970223/coco-gauff-interview-2024/) [posted](https://x.com/CocoGauff/status/1888766872440504721) on X. “You did that!!!” [Venus Williams](https://x.com/Venuseswilliams/status/1888774427787059630) said. The official accounts of the [U.S. Olympic Team](https://x.com/TeamUSA/status/1888781865974374814) and the [U.S. Open Tennis Championships](https://x.com/usopen/status/1888766254728540378) also gave Williams plaudits. “For those of y’all who weren’t outside, the media tore Serena to shreds for crip walking at Wimbledon,” one user [wrote](https://x.com/notdanilu/status/1888768998310842806) on X. “Her coming back to do a dance that references a culture she’s actually a part of, during a live performance criticizing someone for being a culture vulture is \*chef’s kiss.\*” Lamar also earned praise for including Williams: “kendrick bringing out serena williams to crip walk after drake stalked that woman publicly for years and obsessively threw shots at her for turning him down is so wild, that man is the definition of chaotic good,” one X user [commented](https://x.com/shaTIRED/status/1888765228957176158). While others seemed to almost feel sorry for Drake: “Serena Williams crip walking to a song about you being a pedophile has to hurt existentially,” [wrote](https://x.com/%5FZeets/status/1888764729717625218) one X user. [Said](https://x.com/BRANDONWARDELL/status/1888766431690641808) another: “If my ex girlfriend was on the tv crip walking to a song calling me a pedophile at the super bowl my feelings would be hurt to say the least.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7214650/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7214650/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show/"},"headline":"The Meaning Behind Serena Williams Dancing During the Super Bowl Halftime Show","datePublished":"2025-02-10T07:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:50:11.889Z","description":"The tennis champion did a crip walk dance as Kendrick Lamar performed his Drake diss track “Not Like Us.”","url":"https://time.com/7214650/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show/","keywords":["Super Bowl topic","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20bae2c726727ba2/6998b370e2d64bf632c5d332/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Miranda Jeyaretnam","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20bae2c726727ba2/6998b370e2d64bf632c5d332/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show","caption":"Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show","creditText":"Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for Roc Nation","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/super-bowl/","name":"Super Bowl topic"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7214650/serena-williams-crip-walk-super-bowl-kendrick-lamar-halftime-show/","name":"The Meaning Behind Serena Williams Dancing During the Super Bowl Halftime Show"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Serena Williams Says Goodbye to the Sport She Changed Forever","description":"Serena Williams—arguably the greatest athlete of all time—spoke to TIME’s Sean Gregory about her decision to move away from tennis and into the next chapter of her life. 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