Alexis Ohanian is defending his wife Serena Williams, who’s being slammed for stealing the Super Bowl halftime show with her crip walk, a controversial dance deeply rooted in the gangs of Southern California.
By the time Kendrick Lamar took the Super Bowl halftime stage at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, anticipation was at an all-time high. The song’s beat dropped, the stadium erupted, and then – just as the track hit one of its most infectious moments – the camera found Serena Williams, crip walking with the kind of effortless cool that only she could pull off.
posterposter
The crip walk is a dance created in the 1970s by Robert “Sugar Bear” Jackson, a first-generation crip member – an alliance of street gangs mostly based in the coastal regions of Southern California.
Williams – a 23-time Grand Slam champion and cultural icon – effortlessly vibed to the Grammy-winning song, “Not Like Us” – Lamar’s diss track aimed at Drake.The tennis star, who like Lamar grew up in Compton, reportedly dated the Canadian rapper before she married Alexis Ohanian, and by bringing her on stage, Lamar took his ongoing feud with Drake to a whole new level.
If there was any doubt about where Serena, 43, stood in the Drake vs. Kendrick feud, it was erased in that single dance move.
After the Eagles clinched the 2025 title, Williams shared a social media clip that she captioned, “Super Bowl halftime show babyyyyyyyyy.”
In the clip that’s been viewed 3.8 million times, she jokes, “Man I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon, I would’ve been fined.”
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 10, 2025
Fans jumped into the comments section, praising her surprising cameo at the Super Bowl.
“Serena Williams! The converse, the outfit, the dance moves, the feature in Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not like us’ Super Bowl halftime show, winning on and off the tennis court,” shares one netizen.
A second writes, “The Legend herself. You represented.”
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. pic.twitter.com/Xq4O96Yg0s
— Alexis Ohanian 🗽 (@alexisohanian) February 11, 2025
To add to the moment, he also shared a clip of Samuel L. Jackson playing Uncle Sam at Lamar’s performance, where he said, “Oh no, no! Too loud! Too reckless! Too…ghetto.”
Fans jumped into the comments section of Ohanian’s February 9 post, offering their support.
“The girls that get it get it! There’s a reason Serena keeps winning off the court too,” writes one fan.
A second shares, “GOAT doing GOAT things. Wimbledon should apologize to Serena.” And another adds, “I’ve never been moved by a performance like I was last night. ever. Powerful. Poignant. Perfect. Thanks for being a part of what was a memorable stirring of the soul, Serena.”
What are your thoughts on Ohanian defending his wife’s controversial crip walk? Please let us know what you think and then share this story with others so we can get the conversation started!