Featured Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation
Rhiannon Ingle
Serena Williams' husband has spoken out after fans were convinced they 'worked out' the savage reason she joined Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance.
The world watched on as the 'Not Like Us' rapper took to the stage at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday (9 February) to perform some of his biggest hits to his adoring fans.
Lamar was joined by guest, SZA, as they performed their hits 'Luther' and 'All The Stars' while the crowd cheered on.
However, the Super Bowl halftime show cameo everyone was seemingly talking about online was none other than the 43-year-old tennis legend.
Her presence during Lamar's performance of 'Not Like Us' - a diss track about fellow rapper Drake which recently became the subject of a highly publicised lawsuit - was clearly a huge deal for fans.
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Now, for some context behind the beef, Drake sued Universal Music Group for defamation and harassment after it released the diss track, with his lawyers accusing the record label of launching a 'campaign to create a viral hit' as Lamar, 37, describes the 38-year-old as a 'certified p**dophile' - claims that Drake has continuously denied.
"Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young / You better not ever go to cell block one," Lamar rapped, as jaws dropped across the world. However, he left out the most controversial word, 'p**dophile', from the diss track.
Viewers at home also couldn't help but share their reactions to fellow Compton-native Williams' cameo appearance, who is rumoured to have briefly dated Drake around 2011, per People.
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"Drake watching Serena his ex crip walking to a viral diss song about him that’s legendary," quipped one X user.
A second gushed: "OK I lied SERENA WILLIAMS doing a CRIP WALK on Drake's tomb (this performance) was THE BEST thing I've ever seen."
"SERENA CRIP WALKING ON DRAKE LMAOOOOOOOO," piped up a third.
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And a fourth chimed in: "SERENA???? Kendrick had the SERENA WILLIAMS CRIP WALKING TO NOT LIKE US??? THE SAME SERENA THAT DATED DRAKE??? THIS MAN IS DIABOLICAL!!!!"
Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian, who she shares two daughters with, has since taken to X himself to share his thoughts on the halftime show
"Pretty fantastic halftime show," he wrote on Monday (10 February).
Ohanian also retweeted a video of his wife dancing at the show with the caption: "Highlight of the Super Bowl."
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Reflecting on his wife's Crip walk, and how she was hit with backlash for doing the same dance at the 2012 Olympics, he added in another tweet: "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."
Williams, prior to her performance, joked about the beef between the two rappers.
"If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us, not a single one of us, not even me, should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar,” she said at the 2024 ESPY Awards in July.
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"He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re going to Forrest Gump him. Seats taken."