Tennis icon Serena Williams made an unexpected appearance during rapper Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, performing her crip walk—a dance style originating in Los Angeles.
Her moves paid homage to Williams and Lamar’s mutual hometown.
However, the moment also revived a Wimbledon dispute when Williams faced backlash for a similar celebration after securing Olympic gold against Maria Sharapova in London 2012.
Critics then deemed the dance inappropriate, accusing it of promoting gang culture.
Williams responded to the criticism in an X video from backstage at the Super Bowl.
“Man, I didn’t crip walk like that at Wimbledon,” she joked. “Oh, I would’ve been fined.”
“It was all love,” she clarified about her Super Bowl cameo.
The crip walk was originally crafted by Los Angeles-based street gang, the Crips, in the 1970s. Over time, it became popular in hip-hop, particularly among those linked to the city.
Williams has previously defended her 2012 celebration, with some supporters calling the backlash excessive and even racially biased.
“It was just a dance,” Williams stated at the time.
Her Super Bowl appearance also sparked intrigue for another reason. The 43-year-old was once romantically linked to rapper Drake, Lamar’s rival and the subject of his Grammy-winning diss track, which he performed during the event.
Lamar appears to mention Williams in the song, Not Like Us, warning Drake: “Better not speak on Serena.”
Williams, a Compton native, has been married to Reddit co
