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Serena Williams isn’t letting speculation cloud her legacy. After she appeared during Kendrick Lamar’s explosive Super Bowl 59 halftime show, the internet lit up with questions — not about her performance, but about her past. Fans couldn't help but link her presence on stage to Lamar’s subtle jabs at longtime rival Drake, who Serena briefly dated over a decade ago. In a recent interview with TIME, Williams shut that idea down, per TheSpun.
“Absolutely not. I would never do that,” she said, responding to claims that her cameo was intended to disrespect Drake. “And that was sad, that anyone would ever think that… Obviously I can see how someone would think that. But absolutely not. I have never had negative feelings towards him. We’ve known him for so many years.”
Though she denied any shade, the moment stirred plenty of buzz. With Lamar rapping over lyrics many saw as digs at Drake, the timing of Serena’s appearance felt, to some, like a statement. But for Williams, it was just another chapter in a public life that often gets misunderstood.
The Crip Walk Revisited
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Beyond the speculation about Drake, Williams also received backlash for a brief crip walk during the performance. The move, first spotlighted during her 2012 Wimbledon win over Maria Sharapova, reignited old criticism — some even lodged complaints with the FCC. One viewer accused her of “promoting gang affiliation,” per TIME.
Williams has addressed the controversy before. “It was just a dance,” she told reporters back in 2012. “I didn’t know that’s what it was called… You should be trying to ask me questions to lift me up.”
Now, more than a decade later, Serena Williams still seems to be wrestling with how to feel about the moment. “I don’t know if I regret it or not,” she admitted to TIME. “I don’t know the answer to that.”
Intentional or not, her appearance added another layer to one of the most talked-about halftime shows in recent memory.
