Hot Take: The Super Bowl LIX halftime show wasn’t all that great. Yes, Kendrick Lamar promised “storytelling” as the theme, and while the elements were there, the execution fell short—and that’s coming from a fan. Nevertheless, his cheeky grin on the camera while spitting the “Say Drake…” line from Not Like Us was gold. Even golder, or bolder, was bringing in Serena Williams—Drake’s ex—to hit the Crip Walk during his performance. That was a masterclass in trolling.
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However, Fred Taylor and Ryan Clark don’t see it that way. And they believe the backlash Serena received for her appearance, especially from Stephen A. Smith, was completely unwarranted.
Stephen A. had outright called out Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, and suggested he should leave her over that appearance. His reasoning? That her appearance in the set—seemingly trolling her ex—somehow proved she’s not over him. And Fred Taylor, a 13-year NFL veteran, could not disagree more. “That take was completely out of pocket,” he said on the Pivot Podcast.
Fred pointed out that Williams, a Compton native, was simply paying homage to her city by doing a dance that originated there. She had flaunted the same moves at the 2012 London Olympics and faced backlash for it—just for being herself.
Now, 13 years later, as Fred explained, Kendrick and his team were simply giving Williams her well-deserving flowers by making her a part of the show. Nothing more to it.
“(Serena’s crip walk) was a nod to Compton. It was a nod to California. Everything about that half-time show was well thought out. Even hearing Serena talking about how Kendrick’s team got in touch with her, saying, ‘We love what you did with your crip walk after the Olympics, winning the gold. Let’s come be a part of that.'”
This is why Fred bashed Stephen A., a 57-year-old unmarried man, for giving divorce advice to a happy couple, asserting that Serena’s appearance had nothing to do with Drake.
“I don’t think someone who’s not married should ever really comment on someone who’s married and happy… It had nothing to do about Drake.”
Fred wholeheartedly believes the half-time show was “great” and the Serena Williams cameo, a “nice touch.” Ryan Clark concurred.
The former football safety further pointed out that Ohanian, Williams’ husband, has always stood by her. And why wouldn’t he? Ohanian is well aware of the backlash Williams faced after her Crip Walk at the Olympics—backlash so strong that some even tried to downplay her status as one of the greatest tennis players ever.
in 2012 Serena’s crip walk after winning Gold at the London Olympicspic.twitter.com/8XKQZk9iUT
— SOUND | Victor Baez (@itsavibe) February 12, 2025
In Clark’s eyes, Kendrick’s halftime performance was about showing that “the revolution is being televised”—that being “too loud” or “too ghetto” doesn’t hold you back. And including Williams in that message was no accident.
Clark also brought up how Drake had taken shots at Williams and her husband in his 2022 track Middle of the Ocean, calling Ohanian a “groupie.” So, even if Williams’ appearance was meant as a clapback, was it really that out of line?
