Serena Williams’ unexpected cameo during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance was definitely one of the most viral moments of 2025 so far. Needless to say, the tennis star absolutely impressed the audience with her very refined crip walking, but the internet was more interested in whether her appearance was a subtle shade of Drake. Lamar and the In My Feelings rapper have been beefing for a long time now. In addition, Williams is allegedly an ex-girlfriend of his, and that’s why the wild theory managed to garner significant buzz on the internet. However, months later, we finally have a clarification on why Serena chose to join Kendrick on stage.
It was February 9, the match day between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. Chiefs, who even received Donald Trump’s support, suffered a humiliating defeat, but they were lucky as it was overshadowed by Lamar’s halftime show. His performance of the Grammy-winning track Not Like Us was one for the history books.
However, there was something else that almost overshadowed his powerhouse performance as well, and that was when Serena appeared on the stage. The tennis champion crip walked as the 37-year-old rapper listened to his fans sing along “to certified p—-phile,” an accusation Drake has firmly denied.
But why the tennis legend was there? Well, the internet had some crazy theories referring to Drake and Lamar’s long feud and Williams’ alleged past romance with the 38-year-old rapper. “Drake watching Serena his ex crip walking to a viral diss song about him that’s legendary,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Drake boutta sue serena williams now
— alex͓̽andro (@aalexndro) February 10, 2025
Another added, “OK I lied SERENA WILLIAMS doing a CRIP WALK on Drake’s tomb (this performance) was THE BEST thing I’ve ever seen.” Despite the craze, it turns out, the wild theory was very wrong, to say the least.
Serena Williams has herself clarified why she was at Kendrick Lamar‘s halftime show at Super Bowl 2025, and it wasn’t to shade Drake. Speaking with TIME Magazine on April 16, the 23-time Grand Slam winner revealed that she and Lamar had been “trying to do something together for ages,” and this was their perfect chance. When asked if it had something to do with the One Dance rapper, she emphasized, “Absoultely not. I would never do that. And that was sad, that anyone would ever think that. I respect how they could.”
Serena Williams says her Super Bowl Crip Walk with Kendrick Lamar was ‘absolutely not’ to shade Drake 👀
“I would never do that. And that was sad, that anyone would ever think that. I respect how they could.”
“Obviously I can see how someone would think that. But absolutely… pic.twitter.com/HpteKK0534
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) April 16, 2025
She further added, “Obviously, I can see how someone would think that. But absolutely not. I have never had negative feelings towards him. We’ve known him for so many years.”
In addition, she also addressed the allegations that she was endorsing “gang activity” through her C-walk. When asked if she regrets joining Lamar on stage, she only had one thing to say: “I don’t know if I regret it or not. I don’t know the answer to that.”
Either way, the internet was very wrong this time!
