Stephen A. Smith Says He’d ‘Divorce’ Serena Williams Over Super Bowl Crip Walk — Her Real Husband Claps Back!
Stephen A. Smith wasn’t impressed by Serena Williams’ dance during Kendrick Lamar’s explosive Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show performance.
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Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Roc Nation
Stephen A. Smith wasn’t impressed by Serena Williams’ dance during Kendrick Lamar’s explosive Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show performance, but the sportscaster’s comments are falling on def ears, especially since her husband, Alexis Ohanian is standing ten toes down behind his wife.
On Monday’s (Feb. 10) episode of ESPN’s First Take, Smith, known for his candid and often controversial remarks live on air, criticized Williams’ appearance at Super Bowl LIX. During Kendrick’s performance of his Grammy-winning Drake-aimed diss track “Not Like Us,” Williams was seen dancing and crip-walking on stage. Smith felt her performance was disrespectful to her husband, Ohanian, suggesting it may have been a subtle jab at her ex, rapper Drake. Williams, 43, dated the 38-year-old Canadian artist in 2011, a relationship that inspired Drake’s 2016 song “Too Good.”
“If I’m married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his ass, ’cause clearly you don’t belong with me,” Smith said while chatting with co-hosts Shannon Sharpe, Ryan Clark, and Molly Qerim on Monday’s show. “What you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye. Bye.”
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Agreeing with Smith, Sharpe weighed in, suggesting that Williams’ appearance was her way of getting revenge or her “lick back” at the rapper. However, Clark urged both to reconsider their stance and back off from the criticism. Defending the retired pro-tennis star, Clark said:
”Stop it Stephen A. If you were with Serena Williams, you’re going to be a kept man anyways. Don’t start that.”
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Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
Qerim pointed out that while it may have seemed like Williams’ appearance was intentionally tied to her past relationship with Drake, it was worth noting that Williams hails from Compton, the same hometown as Kendrick Lamar. It could have simply been a moment of them coming together to highlight their shared roots.
Serena Williams defended her performance.
Despite the speculation, Williams took to Instagram on Feb. 11, where she gushed about collaborating with Kendrick on the big show in front of millions. In her post, she shared that Kendrick’s team reached out to her, asking if she would recreate the iconic moment when she crip-walked on the 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! I knew my winning dance after the @olympics would pay off one day. End of story,” the mother of two wrote.
Fans poured into the comments section praising the tennis star’s appearance.
“You did that,” wrote one user.
While another fan commented, “Love it!! Epic!!!”
Alexis Ohanian also applauded his wifey.
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Ohanian also entered the chat to applaud his wife’s performance.
“Pretty fantastic halftime show,” the 41-year-old Reddit co-founder wrote on X Feb. 9. He also took to the platform on Feb.10 to call out naysayers picking apart Williams’ appearance.
“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.”
What did you think about Serena Williams’ Super Bowl LIX cameo? Tell us in the comments section.
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