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Though Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s feud has been raging for years now, the latest turn of events involving Serena Williams fueling the fire seems to have been one of the most interesting developments in the story. If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’d better know that the tennis superstar recently gave a controversial dance performance at Lamar’sSuper Bowlshow.
While that may not seem much, the real gist is the fact that she did a ‘Crip Walk’ while Lamar was busy catching the audience’s attention with one of his diss tracks against Drake. But while a lot of fans are deeming this to be a shade against Lamar’s rival, who was rumored to have dated Williams, it sounds like there’s more to this story than what meets the eye.
Serena Williams’ Crip Walk was done more than just throwing shade at Drake
In what might as well be one of the most eventful turn of events at theSuper Bowl LIX,Serena Williamsperformed the ‘Crip Walk’ — a dance made popular by Henry ‘Crip’ Heard — toNot Like Us, a diss track Lamar wrote for his longtime rival andGod’s Plansinger. Turns out, she had a greater motive behind pulling this move than just throwing shade at her rumored ex.
From Compton to NOLA.@SerenaWilliams@KendrickLamar#AppleMusicHalftimepic.twitter.com/mnzuP7fJ1N
While fans had been speculating that Williams performed this dance to the diss track againstDraketo ostensibly demean him, what the former tennis player said after her dance made her true intentions clear. In a clip she shared on her social media, she said (viaLADbible), “Man I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon, I would’ve been fined.”
Back in the 1970s, Robert “Sugar Bear” Jackson from a Los Angeles-area street gang called theCripscreated this walk, and it was later adopted by the hip-hop community and soon spread worldwide. Williams previously performed this dance at Wimbledon in 2012 when she won Olympic gold. However, she received significant backlash for the same.
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At the time, the backlash surrounding her was excessive as critics reportedly argued Williams’ dance to have been inappropriate and a glorification of gang violence (perBBC). This was because, besides theCripsusing the dance at parties to display union – particularly to their rival gang theBloods, it was also reportedly used after killing someone to give the kill a Crip signature.
But Williams only performed the dance as a celebratory one in the wake of her win against Maria Sharapova at the London Olympics, and she said in defense of it back then, “It was just a dance.” However, this time around, backing her up was her husband Alexis Ohanian, who shared screenshots of some of the criticizing things people had said about her at the said event in the past.
One of the things he shared on hisInstagramincluded a screenshot from Jason Whitlock at Fox Sports, a sports commentator, who said about Williams back then that she ‘deserved to be criticized and she should’ve immediately apologized.’ Whitlock also reportedly claimed that her dancing at the 2012 event was ‘akin to cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church.’
Adding to this, he posted a clip ofSamuel L. Jacksondressed as Uncle Sam during the Halftime Show where he was seen shouting, ‘Oh no, no! Too loud! Too reckless! Too… ghetto.’ In yet another Instagram story, Ohaniana then went on to land yet another blow to defend his wife’s honor, posting a clip from the show with the caption, ‘Meanwhile, let ’em dance.’
For reference to why he was posting these stories, the internet entrepreneur cum investor candidly wrote, “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 said, it’s evident the ‘Crip Walk’ held a greater meaning than just throwing shade at the Canadian singer, and defending Williams this time around was her husband himself.
How fans are reacting to Serena Williams’ Crip Walk
Of all the things that took place at theSuper Bowl LIX, perhaps one of the most interesting ones duringLamar’s Halftime Showperformance was the cameo appearance of the superstar from the tennis world. This is becauseDrake has made numerous references to Williamsin his music, and she, in turn, dancing to Lamar’s diss track for him was truly epic.
This is why fans appear to be having some of the most relatable reactions to the same as well. For one, while some are calling out Lamar for getting Williams to crip walk to the diss track, others are calling it “chaotic good.” All in all, in a series of mixed reactions to the bombshell cameo from fans worldwide, here’s what those fans have to say on the same on X:
kendrick bringing out serena williams to crip walk after drake stalked that woman publicly for years and obsessively threw shots at her for turning him down is so wild, that man is the definition of chaotic good
For those of y’all who weren’t outside, the media tore Serena to shreds for crip walking at Wimbledon. Her coming back to do a dance that references a culture she’s actually a part of, during a live performance criticizing someone for being a culture vulture is *chef’s kiss.*https://t.co/fjmi1uAPE8
he really said “say drake” and smiled straight at the camera…. and then brought out serena williams. HE’S SICK IN THE HEAD 😭😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/FvgOINlqPl
Kendrick: “CERTIFIED LOVERBOY, CERTIFIED PEDOPHILE"Serena Williams:pic.twitter.com/L02aY1PNLA
Serena Williams crip walking to a song about you being a pedophile has to hurt existentially
Kendrick getting the entire Super Bowl screaming “a minor” with Serena Williams dancing has to feel like a shot gun blast to Drake’s chestpic.twitter.com/XmERgepTFY
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With all of this being put out there, it can’t be denied that Serena Williams’ ‘Crip Walk’ at theSuper Bowl LIXhas ignited a firestorm of debate, but beneath the surface, it’s a powerful statement of reclaiming culture and defending one’s honor that might as well be acknowledged now.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
