Serena Williams was met with mixed responses for her cameo during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show performance at the 2025 Super Bowl, though her husband, Alexis Ohanian, has defended the appearance.

Alexis, 41, took to X on Monday, February 10, to share a screenshot of Fox Sports’ comparing Serena’s viral crip-walk to someone “cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church.”

“Some of y’all have no idea how criticized Serena was for this same dance at Wimbledon 13 years ago and it shows … This is bigger than the music,” Alexis wrote.

Not only was Serena seemingly slammed for doing the dance – which was made famous by the Los Angeles Crips in the 1970s – during the halftime performance, but she previously showed off the same move after she beat at the London Olympics in 2012.

In addition to defending Serena, 43, in the caption, he further proved his point by sharing a video of during the Super Bowl performance. “Oh no no. Too loud! Too reckless! Too ghetto,” Samuel, 76, said on stage while dressed as Uncle Sam. “Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!”

The tennis player’s dancing was not the only thing that got viewers talking about her performance. Serena shocked fans when she danced onstage during the halftime show, which included Kendrick, 37, performing his Drake diss track, “Not Like Us,” amid their ongoing feud. Many fans noted that Serena’s cameo likely wasn’t a coincidence, as she was rumored to have dated Drake, 38.

While Serena and Drake never confirmed that they were romantically involved, he alluded to their past romance in his 2013 song, “Worst Behavior.”

“I’m with my whole set, tennis matches at the crib / I swear I could beat Serena when she playin’ with her left,” he sings in the track.

Drake has also confirmed that his 2016 collaboration with Rihanna, “Too Good,” was inspired by the professional athlete. One clip posted via social media showed Drake talking to his mother, Sandi Graham, about the track while they were in a studio.

After Sandi said that Drake’s music is “very light” and he doesn’t get “heavily into things,” he argued that some of his music has depth. “No, I get heavy on a couple joints, but this is more about me and Serena,” he said about “Too Good,” and Sandi replied, “I gather!”

“It’s funny because when I make songs about women, I also make songs for them. So, I know what kind of song to make. If I’m gonna talk about them, I’ll at least do them the justice of making them a song that they’ll like,” Drake continued in the clip. “I know Serena very well, and I know that she’ll hear it loud and clear, but not hate me for it because it’s lighthearted.”

While Serena has been private about her romance with Drake, she is clearly proud of her marriage to Alexis. The couple tied the knot in November 2017, and they share daughters Olympia, 7, and Adira, 1.