Kendrick Lamar secured the coveted Super Bowl halftime show slot this year, captivating fans with favourites from his back catalogue, including tv off, DNA and squabble up. But it was Kendrick's 2024 'diss track' Not Like Us - released amid his high-profile feud with fellow rapper Drake - that became a viral talking point, particularly because the camera panned to Serena Williams performing her recognisable 'Crip Walk' on stage during the song.
Relevant, how? Well, rumour has it that the tennis ace used to date the world-famous Too Good hitmaker before she married entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian in 2017.
'Kendrick getting Serena Williams to Crip Walk while performing Not Like Us is nasty work,' one fan voiced on X. A second wrote, 'Serena Williams Crip Walking on national television to a diss record for one of her exes. You cannot make this up.'
Serena, 43, bagged more than a million likes when shared the moment on her Instagram grid and simply captioned it 'SB25'.
While Kendrick, 37, and Drake, 38, started off on favourable terms in the early 2010s and even collaborated on music, their feuding is understood to have taken off last year via respective diss tracks (although rumours of tension date back to 2013). Kendrick's Not Like Us, released last May, accuses Drake of paedophilia and sexual misconduct, and its release saw the latter sue the former in October, with the Canadian superstar claiming the song is 'defamatory'. Drake also called the references 'unequivocally false' and added that they led to 'violence' and 'unrelenting vitriol' against him.
When did Serena Williams and Drake date?
Serena and Drake have never divulged whether they were in a relationship. Speculation that the pair were romantically linked is believed to have cropped up in 2011, but it intensified four years later when TMZ claimed that the tennis champ and the musician were spotted on a date in Ohio. The outing came amid reports that the pair had been dating for months, after Drake was pictured supporting Serena at Wimbledon. However, a representative for the Grand Slam icon allegedly told People that they were just 'longtime friends'.
Drake seemingly contradicted that things were merely platonic, as he previously told his mother in a resurfaced clip that his 2016 song Too Good was inspired by Serena. He said of the song, 'No, I get heavy on a couple joints, but this is more about me and Serena.'
The lyrics include: I'm too good to you / I'm way too good to you / You take my love for granted / I just don't understand it.
Then in 2022, Drake rapped about his alleged ex-girlfriend again in Middle of the Ocean: Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie / He claim we don't got a problem but / No, boo, it is like you coming for sushi.
Alexis - who shares daughters Olympia, seven, and 17-month Adira with Serena - responded with this post on social media, 'The reason I stay winning is because I'm relentless about being the absolute best at whatever I do - including being the best groupie for my wife and daughter.'
Millie Payne is a News and Entertainment Writer for Grazia. She has specialised in showbiz interviews, features, articles and roundups for over three years and loves combining her love for writing, talking and all things popular culture.