Serena Williams’ Super Bowl Crip Walk Was the Bold, Petty, and Unapologetic Move We Needed—Right When We Needed It
It was only four seconds—but that’s all it took.
During Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl 59 halftime performance, as he performed Not Like Us—the track that effectively ended Drake’s credibility in their 2024 rap feud—the camera cut to the corner of the stage.
And there she was: Serena Williams, effortlessly hitting the Crip Walk.
Some people saw just a dance.
But we saw a statement. A reclamation. A masterclass in bold, unapologetic power—and, let’s be honest, a Hall of Fame level petty move.
Serena knew exactly what she was doing.
And in that moment, she wasn’t just a tennis legend. She was every woman who has ever been trolled, disrespected, or underestimated—and decided to remind the world exactly who she is.
She did it during Black History Month. During a time when DEI is under attack. During the performance of a diss track aimed at Drake—the same man who spent years fixated on her, only to be completely ignored.
This wasn’t just a flex. This was resistance. And it was deliciously petty.
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Serena’s 2012 Wimbledon Crip Walk: The Backlash & The Double Standard
If you think this is the first time Serena Williams has Crip Walked in a moment of victory, you don’t know the history.
Back in 2012, fresh off winning Olympic gold at Wimbledon, Serena took a moment to celebrate her way—by hitting the Crip Walk.
It was joyful. Authentic. A nod to her Compton roots.
But instead of just letting her have that moment, the backlash came fast and hard.
The Media’s Hypocrisy
Fox Sports commentator Jason Whitlock slammed her:
"What Serena did was akin to cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church… Serena deserved to be called out."
Meanwhile, white athletes had celebrated wins by spiking footballs, chugging beers, and doing questionable touchdown dances for decades—without anyone questioning their sportsmanship.
But when a Black woman did something tied to her own cultural background? It was suddenly unprofessional.
For years, Serena had been policed—for her body, her emotions, and even how she chose to celebrate her own victories.
So, in 2025, when she stepped onto that Super Bowl stage during Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us performance, she wasn’t just dancing.
She was reclaiming her own narrative.
And for one particular man who wasn’t in the audience, that message was unmistakable.
📌 Read: Does Serena Williams deserve to be criticized for 'Crip Walking'?
Oh, The Pettiness of It All: Serena vs. Drake
Now, let’s get to the real tea.
Serena and Drake have history. And not the good kind.
Drake spent most of 2015 following Serena around like a lost puppy—from Wimbledon to the U.S. Open to her fashion shows. He was obsessed. But Serena? She had already met her future husband, Alexis Ohanian, and she moved on.
Drake, on the other hand? Did not.
Years later, in 2022, he put Serena’s husband—a literal billionaire tech founder—on blast in his song Middle of the Ocean, calling him a “groupie.”
Yes. You read that right. Drake, the man who followed Serena across continents, was calling her husband a groupie.
And when Alexis responded with, “I’m the best groupie for my wife and daughter,” Serena dropped some love emojis and went on about her business.
Because that’s what you do when you’re unbothered and winning.
But this? This was different.
Serena’s Crip Walk wasn’t just a celebration of Compton. It wasn’t just a callback to her Wimbledon controversy.
It was a reminder to Drake that she’s unbothered, still winning, and forever out of his league.
Because let’s put the timeline together:
Drake takes shots at Serena’s husband in 2022.
Drake gets destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in 2024.
Serena shows up on stage during Kendrick’s performance of Not Like Us—the same song that ended Drake—and hits a dance that symbolizes absolute victory.
The timing. The shade. The perfection.
It was the kind of petty that’s so subtle yet so devastating, there was nothing Drake could even say back.
And that’s how you move when you’ve already won.
📌 Related: Serena Williams-Drake dating timeline: Revisiting the brief romance that inspired Super Bowl halftime show cameo
Kendrick Lamar’s Performance and the Role of Uncle Sam
This entire moment—the Not Like Us performance, the Crip Walk, the energy behind it—existed within a bigger, more radical statement.
Kendrick Lamar didn’t just perform. He crafted a critique of America itself—and how Black performers are expected to entertain, not challenge the status quo.
At the start of his set, Samuel L. Jackson appeared dressed as Uncle Sam, a direct callback to his role in Django Unchained—where he played a house slave loyal to his white master. In both cases, his character represents a Black figure who works against his own people to survive in America.
Throughout the performance, Jackson’s Uncle Sam ridicules Kendrick, mocking his music as “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto.”
Sound familiar?
That’s the same criticism Serena faced for simply existing too loudly in tennis.
It’s the same pushback Black women in leadership face when they take up space in boardrooms.
It’s the same scrutiny mothers who don’t fit traditional molds face when they refuse to conform.
Kendrick ignored Uncle Sam and kept performing anyway.
And Serena? She Crip Walked right through the noise.
Because bold Black women do not perform for white approval.
📌 Read: Y’all Not Tired of Hating on Black Women? When Misogynoir Meets Double-Standards
To Every Bold Woman Watching: This is Your Sign
🔥 Say the thing you’ve been holding back.
🔥 Start the project they said you couldn’t handle.
🔥 Make the demand that you know you deserve.
🔥 Show up loudly in a space where you’ve been made to feel small.
Because here’s the truth: The world will never hand you permission. It will only respect the power you claim for yourself.
So, what’s your Crip Walk moment?
What’s the thing they told you not to do—the thing they said was “too much,” “too loud,” “too ambitious”?
Do it anyway.
Move boldly. Take up space. And when you win? Make sure they see you dance.
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ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Dr. Sagashus Levingston is an author, entrepreneur and PhD holder. She has two fur babies, Maya and Gracie, six children (three boys and three girls), and they all (including her partner) live in Madison, WI. She loves all things business, is committed to reminding moms of their power, and is dedicated to playing her part in closing the wealth gap for people of color and women. She believes that mothering is a practice, like yoga, and she fights daily to manage her chocolate intake. The struggle is real, y’all…and sometimes it’s beautiful.
Follow her on Instagram: @infamous.mothers