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Serena Williams
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Some of the thrilling particular company throughout Kendrick Lamar’s Tremendous Bowl LIX halftime present — other than SZA, in fact — was Serena Williams, who hit the Crip Stroll to “Not Like Us” on Sunday (Feb. 9). What nobody anticipated, nonetheless, was that it might double as a final snigger to controversially hitting the dance transfer after defeating Maria Sharapova on the London Olympics in 2012.
Simply days after dancing in entrance of over 100 million viewers, the Grand Slam champion shared a heartfelt thank-you to the GNX rapper on Tuesday (Feb. 11), together with some behind-the-scenes footage. “When Kendrick Lamar and [his] group referred to as and was like, ‘We’ve been attempting to do one thing perpetually. What about this? We cherished your Crip Stroll on the Olympics after you gained the gold medal,’” she defined.
“I’m like, ‘Tremendous Bowl? Are you severe? When on the earth would I ever be capable to dance at a Tremendous Bowl? By no means. Let’s do it!’” the mom of two continued. “I knew my successful dance after the Olympics would repay sooner or later.”
For context, her 2012 celebration sparked loads of outrage, with many critics demanding she be fined and even stripped of her gold medal. Lots of that backlash was not simply concerning the dance itself, however about who was doing it. As a Black lady in tennis — a sport that’s traditionally inflexible and overwhelmingly white — she has confronted fixed scrutiny for all the pieces from her expressions to her outfits. Nevertheless, for individuals who understood, it was a cultural nod to her upbringing in Los Angeles, and extra particularly, Compton.
Within the clip shared Tuesday morning, Williams walked viewers by way of the entire lead-up to her massive second, from getting glammed as much as watching the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs tackle the Eagles, all the best way to Lamar’s efficiency. At one level throughout his set, she hilariously whispered to the digicam, “It’s a foul time to need to pee.”
Afterward, she celebrated the best way anybody would after a once-in-a-lifetime second. “That was one of the best 10 seconds of my life… I used to be doing so good. I used to be targeted,” Williams stated. “I used to be like, ‘I ain’t letting that 15 seconds of fame go.’ I gotta get well-known for one thing,” she joked, as if she just isn’t already probably the most embellished tennis participant in historical past.
It was not all that shocking to see Williams take the Tremendous Bowl LIX subject, on condition that she bought a shoutout in 2024’s “Not Like Us.” Lamar dropped the road, “From Alondra all the way down to Central, n**ga higher not communicate on Serena,” in a reference to the WYN BEAUTY founder’s rumored romance with Drake.
It’s also value noting that Sunday’s Massive Recreation wasn’t even Williams’ first time publicly dancing to the Mustard-produced monitor. Some may keep in mind her mentioning the tune on the 2024 ESPY Awards, which she hosted. “The subsequent time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors recreation, they’re going to Forrest Gump him. Seats taken,” the Olympic gold medalist joked on the occasion.