Serena Williams knows how to make an entrance – and this time, she did it with just a few slick steps. During Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, the 43-year-old tennis icon had a brief cameo where she effortlessly hit the crip walk, sending the internet into a frenzy. And now, Williams is speaking out on her wild dance moves.

For a split second, the sports world and hip-hop culture collided in the most unexpected way. As Kendrick Lamar brought the house down with his fiery performance of “Not Like Us” at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, the camera briefly panned to the corner of the stage.

There stood Serena Williams – tennis legend, 23-time Grand Slam champion, and cultural icon – crip walking with the kind of effortless cool that only she could pull off.

The dance was created in the 1970s by Robert “Sugar Bear” Jackson, a first-generation crip member – an alliance of street gangs mostly based in the coastal regions of Southern California.

But this wasn’t the first time Williams showcased her dance skills.

Wimbledon crip walk
Fans might remember Williams crip walking at the 2012 London Olympics after winning gold, a move that was met with both celebration and controversy.

When it happened, Bill Plaschke, LA Times sports journalist, tweeted, “Serena C-walking at Wimbledon only shows how long she’s been away from home, separated from violence and death associated with that dance.”

Fans were divided on Williams doing the crip walk dance to celebrate her win, some saying it wasn’t “disrespectful,” while others suggested it was “stupid and classless.”
Responding to Plaschke’s criticism, one fan writes, “The Suburb kids here in Pittsburgh crip walk at proms. Not everything is Controversy.”

A second shares, “Moment of raw emotion. Questionable dance choice. Not disrespectful. We should embrace realness from athletes.” And another offered, “Shame she had to put a tarnish on an impressive win. just plain stupid and classless.”

Crip walk recreation

From Compton to NOLA. @SerenaWilliams @KendrickLamar #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/mnzuP7fJ1N

— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025

By the time Lamar took the halftime stage at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, anticipation was at an all-time high. The song’s beat dropped, the stadium erupted, and then – just as the track hit one of its most infectious moments – the camera found Williams, effortlessly vibing to the Grammy-winning song, “Not Like Us” – Lamar’s diss track aimed at Drake.

Williams reportedly dated the Canadian rapper before she married Alexis Ohanian, and by bringing her on stage, Lamar took his ongoing feud with Drake to a whole new level.

If there was any doubt about where Serena stood in the Drake vs. Kendrick feud, it was erased in that single dance move.

And though it was a brief, blink-and-you-miss-it moment, the tennis legend and Lamar – both who grew up in Compton, California – sent social media into a frenzy.

“This game sucks. Serena won the Super Bowl,” tweets one fan of the February 9 game, that saw the Kansas City Chiefs crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

“Serena making an appearance too? That’s a power move. Kendrick repping Compton, Serena bringing the legend status – definitely a moment,” offers a second netizen.

Another writes, “Fierce!! My only complaint…the camera needed to be on Serena longer!!!”

Legendary crip walk
After the Eagles clinched the 2025 title, Williams shared a social media clip that she captioned, “Super Bowl halftime show babyyyyyyyyy.”

Super Bowl halftime show babyyyyyyyyy pic.twitter.com/zufoSNdNhe

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 10, 2025

In the clip that’s been viewed 2.7 million times, she jokes, “Man I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon, I would’ve been fined.”

Fans jumped into the comments section, praising her surprising cameo at the Super Bowl.

“Serena Williams! The converse, the outfit, the dance moves, the feature in Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not like us’ Super Bowl halftime show, winning on and off the tennis court,” shares one netizen.

A second writes, “Kendrick bringing one of Drake’s exes out to literally dance on his grave was so good.”

“The Legend herself. You represented,” shares a third.

Serena Williams didn’t need a touchdown or a microphone to steal the show. All it took was five seconds, a legendary dance move, and the right song at the right time.
And just like that, Serena Williams won the Super Bowl.

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