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Serena Williams responded to the backlash after she crip-walked during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans on Sunday, Feb. 9.
Super Bowl fans were shocked to learn that the Crip Walk, or C-Walk, is affiliated with the notorious Crips street gang in Compton, California.
Serena’s older sister Yetunda Price was killed in a drive-by shooting by two members of the Southside Crips.
Serena glorified the same street gang by wearing their gang colors (blue) and doing the Crip Walk footwork on a worldwide stage.
Fans say the retired tennis star tarnished her legacy by crip-walking to get back at her ex, Drake, while Kendrick performed his Grammy-winning diss track “Not Like Us.”
ESPN sports analyst Stephen A. Smith said he would divorce the mother-of-2 if she was his wife.
On the Feb. 10 episode of ESPN’s First Take, Smith said, “If I’m married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his a*s, ’cause clearly you don’t belong with me.”
“What you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye. Bye,” he added”
Sports journalist Jason Whitlock wrote on X on Feb. 10: “Serena Williams was the extra sauce last night. She lost a sister to gang violence in a drive-by shooting, but she’s crip-walking on Kendrick’s set last night. She’s a controlled clown.”
Serena, 43, responded to the criticism, saying she mimicked the gang-affiliated footwork because Kendrick asked her to.
In a post on Instagram, Serena explained that Kendrick’s team reached out to her, asking if she would recreate the moment when she crip-walked on the tennis court after earning a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.
“I’m like Super Bowl? Are you serious? When in the world would I ever be able to dance at a superbowl? (Never) let’s do it! End of story,” Serena wrote.
One fan wrote on X: “Would you jump off a bridge if Kendrick asked you to?”
