At the 2025 Super Bowl, tennis legend Serena Williams made an unexpected and unforgettable appearance. During Kendrick Lamar’s electrifying halftime performance, Williams took the field, effortlessly C-walking to his hit song “Not Like Us” dripped out in an all-blue ensemble and a pair of A Ma Maniere x Converse sneakers.
Just as fans erupted over the tennis champion tapping back into her Compton roots, Williams was equally thrilled to be part of Lamar’s historic moment. In a video posted to X, she shared a behind-the-scenes look after the show-stopping cameo.
“Man, I did not Crip-walk like that at Wimbledon,” Williams joked. “Oh, I would’ve been fined.”
Her comment references a viral moment from the 2012 London Olympics when, after defeating Maria Sharapova, Williams broke into a celebratory dance that resembled a C-walk. The move stirred controversy among tennis officials, prompting Williams to later clarify:
“First of all. It was just a dance,” she said in response to critics’ concerns about the choreography’s gang affiliation, per The Guardian. “Second, why are you asking me that? If anything, you should be trying to ask me questions to lift me u, not bring such things … I’m done with that question.”
Williams’ cameo also added fuel to the underlying tension in Lamar’s performance. As the rapper’s ongoing feud with Drake continues to unfold, his Super Bowl set was packed with subliminal shots. Williams’ appearance only amplified the drama, given her past rumored relationship with the Canadian rapper. Now, the details on the two’s relationship remain unclear. In 2015, the two were reportedly spotted making out in a restaurant, and Drake made a notable appearance at Williams’ tennis match. Though the two never confirmed their romance, Drake revealed that his song “Too Good” featuring Rihanna was about Williams. Ultimately, things did not last between the two as Williams began dating her now-husband, Alexis Ohanian, that same year.
After their fallout, things got messy when Drake took jabs at Ohanian, calling him a “groupie” in his 2022 track Middle of the Ocean. While Williams has largely ignored Drake’s digs, her C-walking to a diss track about him—in front of approximately 117.3 million viewers —sent a clear message.
