Serena Williams Makes a Surprise Cameo During Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show: Fans React
Written by djfrosty on February 9, 2025
In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, fans have been wondering whether or not Kendrick Lamar would perform his Grammy Award-winning Drake diss “Not Like Us.” Not only did K.Dot perform a section of the track during his set, but he may have thrown a little extra shade at Drizzy.
During Lamar’s fiery rendition of “Not Like Us” at Super Bowl LIX, the camera pulled back to show tennis legend Serena Williams crip walking at the front of the stage while staring down the camera. In a short video posted to her social media after the set, Williams commented on the performance while taking off her costume. “Ooh, I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon,” she said with a smirk. “I would have been fiiiined!”
Williams also grew up in Compton, Calif., making for a fitting addition to Lamar’s show tributing his roots in Hub City. Yet in a performance where Kendrick’s special guests had appeared limited to SZA and Samuel L. Jackson, Williams stood out to fans, and not just because of her dancing.
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Drake and Williams have a long history. The pair had been rumored to have dated, and in the Toronto rapper’s 100 gigabyte data dump last year, a video revealed that he had written his 2016 song “Too Good” about the tennis superstar. Meanwhile, at last year’s ESPYs, Williams made fun of Drake amid his feud with Lamar. “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 quipped before dancing to the same section of “Not Like Us” that she did during the halftime show.
Fans certainly clocked the shade Lamar was throwing at Drake with his performance. “kendrick bringing out serena williams to crip walk after drake stalked that woman publicly for years … is the definition of chaotic good,” wrote one fan.
Another took the moment to throw shade at the Kansas City Chiefs, who had failed to score before the halftime show: “Serena crip walked for 4 seconds and gained more yards than the Chiefs in the entire first half.”
Check out Williams’ video and a few fan reactions to her appearance below: