Drake’s own words very well may have manifested Serena Williams’ appearance at Super Bowl LIX with Kendrick Lamar.
To briefly recap the saga thus far, the Toronto rapper’s former love interest, Serena Williams, made an appearance during Kendrick’s medley performance of hits for the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX halftime show. Serena, a Compton native like Kendrick, was coincidentally dancing along to the West Coast MC’s Drake diss-turned-anthemic-hit, “Not Like Us,” during her brief cameo.
Serena Williams sister was killed by Crips
— keep6ixsolid (@keep6ixsolid) February 10, 2025
Today she was crip walking on live TV to get back at her ex Drake 😂 pic.twitter.com/jnlF1wziBR
Adding insult to injury, Serena’s high-profile ex-boyfriend actually went viral hours before her appearance at the Super Bowl on his own. Thanks to Drake’s recent rant about wasting time and money on failed relationships with ex-partners during Anita Max Win Tour in Australia, Serena’s cameo is gaining extra points for pettiness.
Drake gives epic rant on exes during his latest show in Australia 🧐 pic.twitter.com/wKsNNMbZUu
— Ratings Game Music (RGM) (@RATINGSGAME) February 10, 2025
Due to the time difference, Drake’s rant occurred on the same day but well before the Super Bowl, the narrative that the rant was a reactionary response to Kendrick’s performance over Serena’s appearance is running rampant. And, it is also, in part, due to the rhetoric of the rant alone that also has Drake in hot and speculative water, considering he played his For All The Dogs track “You Broke My Heart” after he completed the long-winded rant.
“If you ever in your life gave your time, gave your energy, gave your money, gave your heart, gave your soul, gave everything that you ever had to somebody, and they f###### played with you and wasted your time, wasted your energy, wasted your money, I want y’all to turn up to this song,” Drake said onstage to the Melbourne crowd. “This is for all y’all exes, and everybody that can play you in their fing life. If you’re doing better than your ex, I want to see you turn the f### up. Now you can play the song.”
Drake and Serena were romantically linked in the mid-2010s, sparking widespread media attention. The rapper and tennis star were often seen together at events and were rumored to have dated around 2015 after being spotted getting cozy at a Cincinnati restaurant.
Drake frequently attended her matches, and his admiration for her was evident. While neither confirmed the relationship outright, Drake’s lyrics in songs like “Worst Behavior” and “Sneakin'” have fueled speculation about their connection. Despite their rumored split, both have moved on, with Serena marrying Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Drake continuing his high-profile dating journey.