Serena Williams joins Kendrick Lamar on stage for Super Bowl Halftime Show: Here’s what it means

Did you spot Serena Williams dancing to Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss track ‘Not Like Us’ during the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show? The Tennis star made a blockbuster cameo at the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday night during Kendrick Lamar’s smashing performance. The camera flipped to the corner of the stage in the middle of Lamar’s performance only to show the 43-year-old tennis legend crip walking, dressed in blue.

Williams and Drake’s history
Many are interpreting Williams’s appearance on stage as a reply to a long-standing cold war with Drake.

Just like Lamar, Williams is not the biggest fan of Drake. Many would recall William and Drake were rumoured to have dated years ago. Drake even referenced Williams in his 2013 song ‘Worst Behaviour’ and then again in his 2022 song ‘Middle of the Ocean’, in the even shaded her now-husband Alexis Ohanian as a ‘groupie’.

Lamar even mentions Williams in the lyrics of ‘Not Like Us,’ seemingly telling Drake he “better not speak on Serena.” Williams, while hosting last year’s ESPY Awards, stated, “If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us, not a single one of us, not even me, should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar,” before dancing to “Not Like Us.” “He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re going to Forrest Gump him. Seats taken.” Like Lamar, Williams too grew up Compton, the California city which is known for its significance to the history of hip-hop.