Serena Williams Has No Time for Super Bowl Haters—and Her Response to Them Proves It

Serena Williams is setting the record straight after facing some backlash for her appearance at the Super Bowl. In case you missed it, the 43-year-old tennis champion took part in Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance on February 9, hitting a Crip walk while he performed his track "Not Like Us." The song itself is a diss track aimed at Drake, which led some to assume that Serena’s cameo was a subtle, "petty" dig at the Canadian rapper, whom she previously dated.

Fast forward nearly two weeks, and Serena is finally addressing the rumors. In a February 17 post on X (formerly Twitter), she shared a message to clear up any confusion. "Gosh I’m so late to the game (I’ve been sick) & busy investing in billion-dollar companies and running @WYNbeauty," she wrote. "Def not dancing to be petty lol."

Serena also added, "I think I proved 23 times over (not counting 4 gold medals) that I simply don’t have time for petty," emphasizing that there was nothing negative about her appearance. "All love and respect always," she continued, firmly shutting down the idea that there was any hidden intention behind her performance.

Serena’s post was a reply to a post from her husband, Alexis Ohanian, who had come to her defense right after the Super Bowl. In the tweet, posted just the day after the game, Alexis pointed out how Serena had been criticized for similar dancing moves back at Wimbledon 13 years ago.

"Some of y’all have no idea how criticized Serena was for this same dance at Wimbledon 13 years ago and it shows," he wrote, sharing an old screenshot of a journalist criticizing her for the dance. "This is bigger than the music."