Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show held importance throughout the nation with its symbolic American flag colored dancers. Liana Bhindi (9) remarked that she “liked Kendrick Lamar’s symbolism”. On the other hand, Grace Acevedo (9) had a different opinion on the show. “Not a fan of Kendrick Lamar, rock and roll is way better for halftime.” But the focus of this article is tennis star Serena Williams’s surprise performance.

Previously, she’d garnered controversy for dancing the gang-made dance at her Olympic win in 2012. C-walking is a dance move created by violent Los Angeles gang ‘Crips’. As such, it’s traditionally associated with gangs and violence, and has been banned from schools in rival gang areas to prevent violence (ABC News). The dance itself involves shuffle-like moves, mainly focused on foot work. Serena herself has past connection to the gang through her sister Yetunde Price, who was shot and killed by Crips members alongside her boyfriend on September 14th, 2003. Yetunde had been picking up her partner, Rolland Wormely, who had lost track of time at a picnic. Yetunde’s shooter was caught and charged, spending fifteen years in jail for manslaughter (People).

However, it’s not just the dance’s controversy that surrounds the performance. The significance of Serena Williams performing alongside Kendrick Lamar was a controversial event in itself. Kendrick released his Drake-diss based single titled Not Like Us this year, garnerning worldwide recognition and even two major separate Grammys (Google). Serena Williams was found to have a connection to Drake, with rumors claiming they’d been in a relationship in the past and had broken up on unfriendly terms. Thus, Serena’s performance during Kendrick’s Not Like Us rendition was seen as a clapback at Drake, a spite coming from both a rapping rival and an alleged ex. Different groups had different reactions to this theory. Drake supporters threw shade on Serena, saying she shouldn’t be “trolling her reported ex” while Kendrick supporters lifted her up, delighting in her seemingly petty revenge (LA Times). Serena herself commented on the situation, claiming that she only performed because Kendrick Lamar had asked her to. She said she couldn’t imagine having a chance to perform at the Super Bowl, and when Kendrick’s team told her they admired her c-walk during the Olympics she knew she had to take the opportunity to do it again. Essentially, she said that it had nothing to do with Drake at all (LA Times).

Serena Williams’s surprise Super Bowl cameo was deemed controversial for its connection to her dissed ex, Drake. However, she claimed that the performance was completely for fun and had nothing to do with Drake.