The Meaning Behind Serena Williams’s Cameo In Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show

Serena Williams crip walking during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show was more than just a celebration of their shared roots in Compton, California. Fans on social media noted that she made a cameo while Lamar was performing 'Not Like Us,' his Grammy-winning Drake diss song. This has layers to it, as Williams and Drake have romantic history from 2015.

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As Harper’s Bazaar pointed out, Lamar referenced Williams in the lyrics of the song, rapping, 'From Alondra down to Central, better not speak on Serena'.

It’s been almost a decade since Williams and Drake sparked dating rumors. In August 2015, Drake had been attending Williams’s matches regularly, and TMZ ran photos of them making out at a dinner in Cincinnati.

By October 2015, their romance had ended though. Us Weekly reported that Williams had moved onto her now-husband Alexis Ohanian. A source dismissed Williams and Drake’s relationship as well, saying it had just been a 'flirty friendship'.

Williams said nothing about Drake after the performance, but she did post on X, formerly known as Twitter, about her cameo. 'Let’s go Super Bowl halftime??! I died a little!' she wrote.

In a second clip, she wrote, 'man, I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon. Oooh, I would’ve been fined! It was all love.'

Earlier in the night, she made headlines for defending Taylor Swift when the singer was booed on the Jumbotron.

Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance contained far more than just some subtle jabs at Drake. The rapper did a medley of hits, including 'wacced out murals', 'Bodies', 'squabble up', 'Humble.', 'DNA.', 'luther', 'All the Stars', and 'tv off'. SZA and Samuel L. Jackson were part of the history-making performance; Lamar is the first solo rapper to headline the big show.

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