Serena Williams Breaks Silence On Super Bowl Cameo

The audience at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show gasped in awe as Serena Williams stood onstage with Kendrick Lamar, and the internet exploded with speculation. When she hopped onstage with Lamar to perform "Not Like Us," a song known mainly as a diss toward Drake, many began speculating if Serena was trying to shade her ex.

Now, the 23-time Grand Slam champion is clearing things up. In a refreshingly candid feature for Time's 100 Most Influential People issue, Serena directly addressed the rumors about her motives behind the brief yet powerful one-and-done cameo. Her answer is a firm and unequivocal no. "Absolutely not," she stated. I would never do that. And that was sad that anyone would ever think that. I respect how they could."

While fans and commentators were eager to draw an association between Serena and Drake, who dated back in 2014, Serena is signaling that there's no animosity between them. Instead, she said, she was focused on the decades she has spent in the same orbit as the rapper, an orbit with more mutual respect than competition. "Obviously, I can see how someone would think that," she added. "But absolutely not. I have never had negative feelings towards him. We've known him for so many years."

Hers was a performance moment when she did a Crip Walk with Kendrick Lamar, in a nod to their mutual West Coast origins that was more about hometown pride than personal pettiness. That didn't prevent critics from piling up during the day, including prominent sports commentator Stephen A. Smith, who said he would consider divorcing his wife if she did something similar to what Serena did. "clearly you don't belong with me," Smith said on his First Take podcast, then fuelling the debate.

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Serena, though, rolled with the criticism and even enjoyed the commentary. "I thought it was hilarious," she said, an eyebrow raised, brushing aside the uproar with grace. "He's allowed to have his personal opinion. But did you see my husband's remark? It was so eloquent." Her husband, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and Serena's biggest cheerleader since they wed in 2017, was all positive about her Super Bowl appearance. His calm and measured response starkly contrasted the frenzy surrounding the performance and a quiet but powerful show of support for his wife of seven years.

For Serena, who has spent decades in the public eye, the idea that her performance was a well-spoken shot at an ex felt like a limitation. Her goal was a celebration of culture, roots, and the moment decisive enough to be shared with one of hip hop's most impact-generating voices.

And while the internet feeds on a dramatic narrative, Serena reminds the world that sometimes a performance is just a performance. With her appearance now etched in history as part of one of the most talked-about halftime shows in years, Serena Williams has once again shown that she's not just a champion in life and on the court but a maestro at rewriting a narrative even when the rest of the world is happy to pervert it. About shade, Serena likes to leave that to the headlines and not her intentions.