Serena Williams is skilled at making an impression, and she used a few deft moves to do so this time. The internet went crazy when the 43-year-old tennis legend made a quick appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s eagerly awaited 2025 Super Bowl halftime act and performed the crip walk with ease. Williams is now criticizing her outrageous dancing skills.
Hip-hop culture and athletics converged in the most unexpected way for a brief moment. During the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, the camera briefly shifted to the corner of the stage as Kendrick Lamar’s explosive rendition of “Not Like Us” brought the house down.
Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, tennis legend, and cultural icon, was there, crip strolling with the easy cool that only she could do.
Robert “Sugar Bear” Jackson, a first-generation member of the Crip, an association of street gangs mostly centered in Southern California’s coastal areas, invented the dance in the 1970s.
However, Williams has previously demonstrated her dancing abilities.
The Wimbledon crip walk
Fans may recall Williams’ controversial and widely celebrated crip walking after winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
“Serena C-walking at Wimbledon only shows how long she’s been away from home, separated from violence and death associated with that dance,” tweeted Bill Plaschke, a sports journalist for the LA Times, at the time of the incident.
Regarding Williams performing the crip walk dance to celebrate her victory, fans were split; some thought it wasn’t “disrespectful,” while others thought it was “stupid and classless.”
One fan comments, “The Suburb kids here in Pittsburgh crip walk at proms,” in response to Plaschke’s criticism. Not all things are controversial.
“A moment of raw emotion,” says a second. A dubious choice of dancing. Not rude. We ought to accept athletes’ authenticity. Another said, “It’s unfortunate that she had to ruin a great victory.” simply uncultured and foolish.
Anticipation was at an all-time high by the time Lamar ascended the stage at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for the half. The stadium erupted as the pace of the song began to drop, and then, as the song reached one of its most catchy portions, the camera spotted Williams easily grooving to the Grammy-winning song “Not Like Us,” which is Kendrick Lamar’s diss track directed at Drake.
Williams allegedly dated the Canadian rapper before to her marriage to Alexis Ohanian, and Lamar escalated his existing rivalry with Drake by inviting her on stage.
That one dance move eliminated any uncertainty on Serena’s position in the Drake vs. Kendrick rivalry.
The tennis star and Lamar, who both grew up in Compton, California, caused social media to go crazy, even though it was a fleeting, blink-and-you-miss-it moment.
“This game is terrible. One fan of the February 9 game, in which the Philadelphia Eagles thrashed the Kansas City Chiefs, writes, “Serena won the Super Bowl.”
Will Serena also be appearing? It’s a move of power. Another netizen comments, “Kendrick representing Compton and Serena bringing the legend status – definitely a moment.”
“Fierce!!” writes another. My only gripe is that Serena should have had the camera for a longer period of time.
The renowned crip stroll
Williams posted a social media video with the remark, “Super Bowl halftime show babyyyyyyyyy,” following the Eagles’ 2025 championship win.
She says, “Man, I would have been fined if I had crip walked like that at Wimbledon,” in the video, which has received 2.7 million views.
Admirers praised her unexpected Super Bowl appearance in the comments section.
“Serena Williams! One internet user comments, “The outfit, the dancing moves, the feature in Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not like us’ Super Bowl halftime show, winning on and off the tennis court.”
“It was amazing when Kendrick brought one of Drake’s ex-girlfriends out to literally dance on his grave,” writes a second.
“The Legend herself.” “You stood in for,” says a third.
Serena Williams stole the show without a microphone or a touchdown. Five seconds, a renowned dance move, and the appropriate tune at the perfect moment were all that was required.
Serena Williams won the Super Bowl in an instant.
How do you feel about Williams’ Super Bowl crip walk? In order for us to hear from others, kindly share this tale and then let us know what you think!
