Serena Williams has finally addressed the viral moment from this year’s Super Bowl halftime show where she Crip Walked during Kendrick Lamar’s performance — and no, it wasn’t a jab at her ex, Drake.
In a new TIME interview, the tennis icon and Compton native opened up about how the collaboration with Kendrick came to be. “We’ve been trying to do something together for ages,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Wait, what, you’re asking me?’ I’m not Taylor Swift, let’s be honest. I would have a better chance to be quarterback at the Super Bowl than dance.”
The moment instantly set social media on fire, with fans speculating it was a calculated diss at Drake — who she dated back in 2011 and who, let’s not forget, called her husband Alexis Ohanian a “groupie” in a 2022 track. But Serena is shutting that all the way down.
“Absolutely not. I would never do that,” she said. “And that was sad, that anyone would ever think that. I respect how they could. Obviously I can see how someone would think that. But absolutely not. I have never had negative feelings towards him.”
She also responded to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who accused her of trolling Drake and said, “If I’m married, and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his ass.” Serena brushed it off with a laugh, but also praised her husband’s calm, classy clapback: “Did you see my husband’s remark? It was so eloquent.”
Later on social media, Serena added: “That there my baby daddy and husband. Always got my back… I’ve been sick & busy investing in billion dollar companies and running @WYNbeauty … def not dancing to be petty lol.” She followed up with a final mic drop: “I think I proved 23 times over (not counting 4 gold medals) that I simply don’t have time for petty.”
No shade. No drama. Just Serena, doing Serena.
