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Serena Williams made a surprise appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show while Kendrick Lamar performed “Not Like Us,” and it wasn’t a stretch to assume it had something to do with her history with Drake. However, the tennis legend claims she didn’t intend any disrespect despite plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Kendrick Lamar got the chance to take the ultimate victory lap in the wake of his triumph over Drake when he was tapped to perform at the halftime show during Super Bowl LIX, and it was a forgone conclusion he was going to perform “Not Like Us,” the diss track that essentially served as the nail in the coffin for their feud.
That ended up being the case, and viewers were treated to a surprise guest courtesy of Serena Williams, the retired tennis superstar (and fellow member of Compton royalty) who busted out the Crip Walk as Kendrick was performing the chorus.
NOT LIKE US FEAT. SERENA WILLIAMS 🐐 pic.twitter.com/78jOHpCcC0
— Hiiipower – TDE News (@hiiipowers) February 10, 2025
Based on K-Dot’s reputation as an incredibly deliberate tactician, many people assumed there was a reason Williams was tapped to appear; she briefly dated Drake in 2011, and it appeared the choreography was meant to convey she was dancing on his grave as “Not Like Us” blared in the background.
However, based on what she had to say during a recent interview with Time, that visual metaphor was purely accidental.
During the conversation, Williams revealed Lamar reached out to her a couple of weeks before the Super Bowl to see if she’d be interested in appearing and admitted she ripped two shots of tequila to calm her nerves before heading out to the field at the Superdome.
She also acknowledged she’s had second thoughts about doing the dance based on some of the backlash she received from people who clutched their pearls due to its origins in gang culture and firmly pushed back when asked if her cameo had anything to do with Drake, saying:
“Absolutely not. I would never do that. 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. We’ve known him for so many years.”
I’d argue Kendrick knew exactly what he was doing even if Serena claims her presence was unconnected to the Drake feud, but I guess we’ll just have to take her word for it.