I saw that Serena Williams was in New Orleans for the Super Bowl hours before the game, but I thought she was just there to watch the game and watch Kendrick Lamar. A lot of famous women came out for Kendrick specifically, and I thought Serena would just be seated in the stands and enjoying the game. But no – Serena was part of Kendrick’s Halftime performance. She popped up on the Halftime set just as Kendrick performed “Not Like Us,” which mentioned her by name. Kendrick only performed part of the song, but Serena’s presence just reminded everyone of the unperformed lyrics: “F–ked on Wayne girl while he was in jail, that’s connivin’/Then get his face tatted like a bitch apologizin’/I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither/From Alondra down to Central, n–a better not speak on Serena.”
Kendrick’s “better not speak on Serena” was actually referencing a long history between Drake and Serena. Drake and Serena used to date or fool around or be friendly more than a decade ago. Drake used to write love songs about Serena… and then she moved on to Alexis Ohanian. Then Drake referred to Alexis (Serena’s husband and father of her children) as a “groupie.” That’s why Serena has been all-in on “Not Like Us.” She made multiple references to it at last year’s ESPYs, which she hosted. Then she turned up within Kendrick’s Halftime performance… and she crip-walked. It was amazing. She hasn’t c-walked in public since the ESPYs and since she won gold at the London Olympics. Maria Sharapova was crying in her chair and Serena c-walked on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
Serena Williams had to pop off with Kendrick during “Not Like Us”
Compton’s finest
pic.twitter.com/9OIvVcmNnR
— espnW (@espnW) February 10, 2025
From Compton to NOLA. @SerenaWilliams @KendrickLamar #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/mnzuP7fJ1N
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
we’ve seen Serena do this before
https://t.co/GTruqycgXz pic.twitter.com/1Tq7zzcSVf
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) February 10, 2025
Photos courtesy of Serena’s IG and Getty.