Serena Williams denies Super Bowl dance was a Drake jab: 'No time for petty'

Serena Williams wants to set the record straight — her Super Bowl moment was about celebrating culture, not throwing shade.

The tennis icon shut down speculation that she had a “petty” motive behind her appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, where she danced on stage as he performed his hit Not Like Us.

Responding to a social media post highlighting the significance of the moment, Williams made her stance clear. 

“Def not dancing to be petty lol,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on February 17. “I think I proved 23 times over (not counting 4 gold medals) that I simply don’t have time for petty," she added. 

Her response comes after her husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, reminded fans that Williams faced major backlash for crip walking after a Wimbledon victory in 2012. 

A decade later, she reclaimed that moment —this time, on one of the world’s biggest stages, with over 130 million viewers watching.

“Some of y’all have no idea how criticized Serena was for this same dance,” Ohanian wrote, sharing a past article condemning her Wimbledon celebration. “This is bigger than the music.”

Many assumed Williams’ cameo was also a subtle jab at Drake, given Lamar’s history of taking shots at the rapper — including during the halftime performance.