Serena Williams greeted her Super Bowl halftime cameo with excitement and jokes, then later said she appeared to celebrate Compton—not to take a shot at Drake. She also left one question open: whether she regretted doing it.
What happened during Serena Williams’s cameo?
Williams appeared during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime performance in New Orleans on February 9, 2025, dancing during “Not Like Us.” Lamar and Williams both grew up in Compton. TIME’s contemporaneous account placed the brief appearance in the context of the performance and its public reaction.
What did she say right before and after the show?
Before the performance: excitement and nerves
In a pre-show social-media post, Williams wrote, “Let’s go Super Bowl halftime??! I died a little!” ABC reported that she also shared behind-the-scenes preparation, including a video of herself rehearsing with her daughter. The caption reads as excited anticipation, not reluctance. ABC News / Good Morning America
After the performance: a Wimbledon joke
Williams followed up with a playful reference to criticism she had faced for doing the dance on a tennis court after winning Olympic gold in 2012. ABC reported her post as: “I did not crip walk like that at Wimbeldon. Oh, I would have been fined!” The quotation uses “Wimbeldon,” as spelled in ABC’s report. In a post-show video, she added, “It was all love.” ABC News / Good Morning America
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She also described the moment as “the best 10 seconds of my life,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Was she taking a shot at Drake?
No, Williams said. Because the dance took place during Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” a song tied to his public feud with Drake, some viewers read the cameo as a message aimed at Drake. Williams rejected that interpretation in an interview with ABC: “Absolutely not,” she said, adding, “I would never do that.” Her stated intent is what can be established; her private thoughts cannot be independently verified. ABC News / Good Morning America
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Why did Williams accept the invitation?
In a later TIME interview, Williams said Lamar and his team had wanted to work with her, and she was surprised by the invitation. She said the opportunity mattered because it could spotlight Compton, the hometown she shares with Lamar. Reflecting on that connection, she asked, “Who would have thought that a tennis player from Compton would be regarded as one of the best tennis players of all time?” TIME
Williams also said she and Lamar had known each other for years. Her explanation centers on the invitation and the chance to represent their hometown, rather than a response to Drake.
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Did she regret the cameo?
Williams did not give a definite yes or no. In the TIME interview, she said, “I don’t know if I regret it or not. I don’t know the answer to that.” She said the chance to amplify Compton was worth the possibility of a negative reaction, but left her own feelings about regret unresolved. TIME
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How much backlash followed the performance?
TIME reported that the Federal Communications Commission received about 125 complaints after Lamar’s halftime show. That figure covers complaints about the performance generally; TIME noted that one complaint accused Williams of promoting gang affiliation. It should not be read as 125 complaints about Williams. TIME
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