Serena Williams knows how to make an entrance – and this time, she did it with just a few slick steps. During Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, the 43-year-old tennis icon had a brief cameo where she effortlessly hit the crip walk, sending the internet into a frenzy. And now, Williams is speaking out on her wild dance moves.
For a split second, the sports world and hip-hop culture collided in the most unexpected way. As Kendrick Lamar brought the house down with his fiery performance of “Not Like Us” at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, the camera briefly panned to the corner of the stage.
There stood Serena Williams – tennis legend, 23-time Grand Slam champion, and cultural icon – crip walking with the kind of effortless cool that only she could pull off.
The dance was created in the 1970s by Robert “Sugar Bear” Jackson, a first-generation crip member – an alliance of street gangs mostly based in the coastal regions of Southern California.
But this wasn’t the first time Williams showcased her dance skills.
Wimbledon crip walk
Fans might remember Williams crip walking at the 2012 London Olympics after winning gold, a move that was met with both celebration and controversy.
When it happened, Bill Plaschke, LA Times sports journalist, tweeted, “Serena C-walking at Wimbledon only shows how long she’s been away from home, separated from violence and death associated with that dance.”
Fans were divided on Williams doing the crip walk dance to celebrate her win, some saying it wasn’t “disrespectful,” while others suggested it was “stupid and classless.”
Responding to Plaschke’s criticism, one fan writes, “The Suburb kids here in Pittsburgh crip walk at proms. Not everything is Controversy.”
A second shares, “Moment of raw emotion. Questionable dance choice. Not disrespectful. We should embrace realness from athletes.” And another offered, “Shame she had to put a tarnish on an impressive win. just plain stupid and classless.”
