10-02-2025
Forget Breakup Body. Serena Williams Just Elevated Ex Revenge with Super Bowl Crip Walk
Compton born tennis star and author Serena Williams elevated the ex-dis Sunday night with a surprise cameo during the Super Bowl halftime show with Pulitzer winning rapper Kendrick Lamar, her former boyfriend Drake's rap rival. "That girl just Crip walked on Drake's grave," said Angie Harris, 32, of Venice as she watched the 43-year-old athlete perform the kaleidoscopic dance move created by Los Angeles Crips in the 1970s. "That was epic! The best ex revenge ever. Her face was like Heyyyyyyy Drake."Williams didn't mention Drake, who she briefly dated before the Canadian rapper's infamous feud with Lamar, who also grew up in Compton, exploded this year. In his Grammy-winning dis-track "Not Like Us," Lamar comes hard for Drake with the lyrics: 'Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles,' later followed by ,'Tryna strike a cord and it's probably A Minor.'The lyrics prompted a modern day brawl between the rapper, one fought in a courtroom with a lawsuit Drake filed last month against his own label, UMG Recordings, Inc., accusing the company of defamation in the publishing and promotion of 'Not Like Us.' He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
The Super Bowl surprise appearance acted as a double-edged revenge sword for Williams — in a blue mini skirt and jacket and matching sneakers — who laughed as she recreated the moves that caused her some controversy back in 2012. When she crip walked after defeating Maria Sharapova at the London Olympics, reporters asked her if she regretted performing a dance connected to L.A. gang life and she pushed back at the time saying: 'First of all. It was just a dance," she replied. "I didn't know that's what it was called. Second, why are you asking me that? If anything, you should be trying to ask me questions to lift me up not bring such things … I'm done with that question."Fellow Angeleno Snoop Dogg applauded Williams' performance while watching the show live.
Lamar's half time show is being lauded across social media. Samuel L. Jackson kicked off the gig with a monologue, and continued to narrate it throughout. On stage, Lamar was joined by SZA, his labelmate, and DJ Mustard, the producer of 'Not Like Us."
Williams has been married to Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian since 2017.
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