Serena Williams has opened up about how her surprise appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show came together, sharing behind-the-scenes footage of the moment on Instagram.
In a video posted on Tuesday, the tennis icon gave fans a look at her preparation for the big night, showing glimpses of her practicing dance moves, getting her makeup done, and more.
“When @kendricklamar and team called and was like ‘we’ve been trying to do something forever, what about this? We loved your crip walk at the Olympics after you won the gold medal.’ I’m like Super Bowl? Are you serious? When in the world would I ever be able to dance at a Super Bowl? (Never) let’s do it! I knew my winning dance after the @olympics would pay off one day,” Williams wrote in her caption.
See Serena’s IG post about her Super Bowl experience HERE
Her husband, Alexis Ohanian, also addressed the performance on X (formerly Twitter), defending Serena’s participation by referencing past criticism she received for the same dance. “Some of y’all have no idea how criticized Serena was for this same dance at Wimbledon 13 years ago and it shows…. This is bigger than the music,” he wrote.
While Williams is a Compton native like Lamar, her past relationship with Drake also became a talking point. Fans have speculated for years that some of his lyrics reference the tennis legend, but the most notable instance came in 2022 on “Middle of the Ocean.” In the track, Drake took a direct shot at Ohanian, rapping:
“Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie / He claim we don’t got a problem but / No, boo, it is like you coming for sushi.”
Her appearance at the Super Bowl only added fuel to the fire, as Lamar performed multiple diss tracks aimed at Drake during the halftime show. He also took a jab at the Toronto rapper’s ongoing legal battle with Universal Music Group over “Not Like Us.”
Despite the controversy, Williams appeared to embrace the moment, with her performance becoming one of the most talked-about highlights of the night.
