Movies

The Meaning Behind Serena Williams Dancing During the Super Bowl Halftime Show

BBG News

As a devoted cinema enthusiast, I must express that it was an electrifying, fleeting appearance during the climax of the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. For mere seconds, just before the final curtain fell on Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us,” featuring Drake, the camera suddenly panned to a corner of the stage, revealing the iconic figure of 43-year-old tennis legend Serena Williams, striding crip walk style.

Williams stands out for various reasons, similar to Lamar. Both hail from Compton, California, a city with a rich hip-hop heritage. Moreover, just like Lamar, she doesn’t seem particularly fond of Drake, to understate it. There have been whispers that they dated in the past, and Drake has referenced Williams in his songs “Worst Behavior” (2013) and more recently in “Middle of the Ocean” (2022). In this latter track, he criticized her current husband, Alexis Ohanian, as a “groupie.

In the song “Not Like Us,” Lamar subtly references Williams, apparently cautioning Drake against discussing or commenting about Serena.

At the ESPY Awards last year, Williams playfully warned, “I’ve learned this year that no one, not a soul, not even me, should engage in a spat with Kendrick Lamar.” Then, he grooved to the song “Not Like Us”. “Kendrick will make your city turn against you. The next time Drake watches a Raptors game from the stands, they might just ‘Forrest Gump’ him, leaving his seat empty.

Apart from her professional triumphs, it’s worth noting that Serena Williams personally resonated with the dance she executed during the Super Bowl performance. The move evoked memories of her jubilant celebration following her victory over Maria Sharapova at the Wimbledon court in London, which clinched her gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. However, this exuberant display was met with heavy criticism from commentators who deemed it inappropriate and crass, similar to an offensive joke told within a sacred space. Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports famously commented, “What Serena did was akin to cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church.” Others, like Bill Plaschke from the Los Angeles Times, argued that her dance glorified gang violence. In response to these criticisms in 2012, Williams simply stated, “It was just a dance,” perhaps acknowledging the fact that her older sister Yetunde Price, who was killed by a member of the Southside Crips gang in 2003, had a personal connection to the very issues some believed her dance represented.

12-plus years ago, the controversy surrounding my actions at Wimbledon is something I’ve never forgotten. People who defended me back then insisted it was an overreaction and tainted with racism. Last night on social media, I humorously commented: “Nah, I didn’t do a crip walk at Wimbledon. Boy, they would’ve fined me for sure!” (As a movie buff, I find this rephrasing captures the spirit of my original statement while putting it in a more personal and conversational tone.)

Williams’ Super Bowl halftime-show cameo quickly took the internet by storm.

20-year-old tennis sensation, Coco Gauff, shared on X: “You gobbled it up!!” In response, Venus Williams commented. The official accounts of the U.S. Olympic Team and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships also praised Venus for her remarks. (Here, “ate” is replaced with “gobbled up” to make the sentence more engaging, and “said” is replaced with “commented” for a smoother flow.)

For those who didn’t witness it, the media heavily criticized Serena for her dance-like move at Wimbledon, which one user on X found particularly fitting. Her decision to perform a dance that pays homage to a culture she belongs to, during a live act that critiques someone for cultural appropriation, is simply brilliant. (or: The user thought it was a perfect touch)

Kendrick Lamar garnered recognition for inviting Serena Williams: “Kendrick having Serena Williams join him in a Crip walk following years of Drake publicly pursuing and subtly criticizing her, which is truly remarkable, exemplifies the essence of ‘chaotic good,’ as one user put it.

One person expressed sympathy for Drake, saying ‘It must sting existentially for Serena Williams to be limping in a dance move while a song accuses you of pedophilia.’ Another individual commented, ‘If my ex was on TV, dancing a crip walk to a song that labeled me as a pedophile during the Super Bowl, I’d definitely feel hurt.’

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2025-02-10 11:06

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