The 2025 Super Bowl caused many talking points as expected, but perhaps none bigger than Serena Williams’ cameo in Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. The focus of the 2025 Super Bowl was, naturally, the big game itself between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. As usual, though, the sporting event had something for everyone, from the Super Bowl’s many film and TV trailers to the halftime show. Super Bowl commercials cost a lot for big studios, but the pull of the event and its halftime show often make the slots worth it to promote upcoming projects.

Where 2025’s event was concerned, the halftime show was performed by Kendrick Lamar. The rapper is one of the biggest in the world, partly driven by 2024, which saw him feud with fellow rapper Drake. The Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef was a big event in the music world in 2024, with ramifications proving to be felt at the 2025 Super Bowl as Kendrick Lamar performed his Grammy award-winning Drake diss track “Not Like Us.” During the performance, tennis superstar Serena Williams was spotted dancing along, leading many to wonder what the history behind this cameo is.

How Serena Williams Fits Into The Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake Beef

Williams Has Some Connections To Both Musicians

Regarding why Serena Williams was dancing to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” it stems from the song’s origins. As alluded to, “Not Like Us” was created by Lamar as a diss track towards Drake, with the two now linked by the back-and-forth beef they endured during 2024. “Not Like Us” was undoubtedly the biggest of the diss tracks released by either musician, hence its focus at the 2025 Super Bowl. Where Serena Williams is concerned, the tennis legend has a connection to both Lamar and Drake, explaining her brief appearance.

It was rumored that Williams once dated Drake, with the rapper even referencing her in two of his songs from 2013 and 2022, “Worst Behavior” and “Middle of the Ocean” respectively. In “Not Like Us,” this history is referenced via the lyric “better not speak on Serena,” explaining the dance performed by Williams during the show. Finally, Williams and Lamar are both from Compton, with the former even speaking out in 2024 about how big an impact “Not Like Us” will have regarding the beef between the two, insisting that the song would even make Drake’s hometown dislike him.

Serena Williams’ Super Bowl Dance Calls Back To Her Tennis Career

Interestingly, Williams’ cameo during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show at the 2025 Super Bowl has even more context than her connection to the beef between him and Drake. The dance Williams performed during the show is known as the Crip Walk which originated in Compton where she and Lamar are from. In 2012, Williams won the Wimbledon women’s singles title for the fifth time, with her celebration afterward linking to 2025’s Super Bowl.

Williams performed the Crip Walk at Wimbledon, which led to some backlash and criticism afterward. Williams actually addressed this backlash shortly after her appearance at the 2025 Super Bowl, taking to social media to jest that she did not Crip Walk like that at Wimbledon. Evidently, Serena Williams has a lot of connections to the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, be it her history with performer Kendrick Lamar and the subject of the “Not Like Us” diss track, Drake, and the dance stemming back to one of her many big wins in her illustrious tennis career.