Serena Williams Denies She Was Being 'Petty' With Super Bowl Halftime Cameo
News
Serena Williams responded to a message posted by her husband, Alexis Ohanian, about her Super Bowl halftime appearance with Kendrick Lamar, insisting she was not being petty after using the same dance moves 13 years previously.
Kendrick Lamar's halftime appearance at the recent Super Bowl was epic. Many others made appearances to enhance and make the performance even better, and fans were treated to a superb spectacle to keep them entertained before the game began again.
Williams was among those who appeared. She went viral for crip walking during Kendrick Lamar's performance of "Not Like Us," a track that disses fellow famous rapper Drake in a direct and cutting manner.
Many felt there were two motivations behind Williams' appearance. Firstly, the former WTA world No. 1 dated Drake before meeting and settling with her husband, Ohanian. There were rumors that their time together ended badly.
In addition, Williams crip walked after beating Maria Sharapova in the 2012 gold medal match at the Olympics. For some bizarre reason, many were offended by her dancing and criticized it harshly.
Ohanian mentioned this in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The Reddit co-founder wrote that his wife was criticized for the same dance 13 years ago and thinks the reason for Williams, one of the greatest black female athletes in history, being targeted was obvious.
"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."
That tweet from Ohanian was on February 11th. Williams responded to her partner's post six days later because she was sick and busy with work. The tennis legend thanked Ohanian for supporting her.
However, Williams also said performing the crip walk was not done as an act of pettiness and argues that her 23 Grand Slam titles prove she never had time to be petty.
"That there, my baby daddy and husband. Always got my back. I Love you. Gosh, I’m so late to the game (I’ve been sick) and busy investing in billion-dollar companies and running WYN Beauty… def not dancing to be petty, lol. I think I proved 23 times over (not counting 4 gold medals) that I simply don’t have time for petty. All love and respect always nothing negative here."
That social media post is also a good insight into how Williams has kept herself busy since retiring from professional tennis at the 2022 US Open after a defeat in the third round against Ajla Tomljanovic. It was among the most emotional moments in the sport's history.
While working as an entrepreneur and being a mother to her two children gives Williams much fulfillment, the 43-year-old has also admitted she misses tennis like crazy and tries to set new goals to compensate.
The WTA Tour is undoubtedly worse for Williams' absence, but the women's game is also in an outstanding place. Coco Gauff, who suffered another surprising loss in Dubai, Aryna Sabalenka, and Iga Swiatek are doing a great job of generating attention to women's tennis.
