Serena Williams has spoken out about her cameo in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time show. The 23-time Grand Slam champion made a brief appearance, crip walking while Lamar performed Not Like Us – a Drake diss track.
Williams briefly dated Drake a decade ago, and some fans thought it was a planned dig at her ex-boyfriend. But the retired tennis legend has cleared up the speculation that she was taking aim at the Canadian rapper.
Lamar promised a surprise for his Super Bowl half-time show earlier this year, and he delivered. Viewers were waiting in anticipation to see if he would perform Not Like Us, the Grammy award-winning diss track he released in the midst of a public feud with Drake.
When he finally did, cameras suddenly panned to Williams, who stared into the camera while crip walking. The internet went crazy for her shock appearance.
And it wasn’t lost on fans that she reportedly dated Drake in 2011 and again in 2015. But the former world No. 1 has now explained that her cameo had nothing to do with their history.
Williams told Time magazine that the move was “absolutely not” a dig at Drake.
“I would never do that. And that was sad, that anyone would ever think that,” she added.
“I respect how they could. Obviously I can see how someone would think that. But absolutely not. I have never had negative feelings towards him. We’ve known him for so many years.”
Instead, it was an opportunity for Lamar and Williams to collaborate. The pair have a great relationship and always planned to do something together.
Lamar called her a couple of weeks before the show, proposing that she crip-walked during Not Like Us. His offer took Williams by surprise, and she admitted she needed a couple of shots of tequila before taking to the stage in the Caesars Superdome.
It was a significant moment for Williams, who received backlash when she crip-walked on Wimbledon’s Centre Court after winning Olympic gold in 2012 – something Lamar watched and wanted to celebrate.
A few days after the Super Bowl, Williams took to Instagram to write: “I knew my winning dance after the @olympics would pay off one day. End of story.”
But she now has second thoughts. “I don’t know if I regret it or not. I don’t know the answer to that,” the tennis icon added.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk