"Three days have passed, let it go" — Internet reacts to Jason Whitlock posting a photoshopped photo of Serena Williams with prison tattoos

Sports columnist Jason Whitlock recently courted controversy after he posted a photoshopped picture of Tennis legend Serena Williams covered in prison tattoos following her performance at the Super Bowl. For context, Super Bowl halftime headliner Kendrick Lamar had invited William to be part of his performance, where the Tennis star crip walked to the Grammy-winning Drake diss track, Not Like Us, on February 9.

Williams' appearance at the Super Bowl was met with mixed responses, with many, including Whitlock, criticizing her for allegedly promoting gang culture by opting to crip walk. For context, the crip walk is a dance style that originated in Compton, California, in the 1970s, closely associated with The Crips, a California-based street gang. However, over time, the dance was co-opted into hip-hop culture.

In an X post following the performance, Whitlock also associated Serena Williams' crip walk to her older half-sister, Yetunde Price's death in a drive-by shooting in 2003, writing:

"Serena Williams was the extra sauce last night. She’s lost a sister to gang violence in a drive-by shooting, but she’s crip-walking on Kendrick’s set last night. She’s a controlled clown."

The sports commentator continued his criticism against Serena Williams, the latest of which included the photoshopped picture of her with prison tattoos, posted on February 12, 2025.

Several netizens condemned Whitlock's latest post, asking him to let it go.

"Three days have passed, let it go. You about that Drake life and that is fine for some."

Many agreed with this sentiment, telling Whitlock that posting the image was "not cool" of him.

"Not cool man and I got love for you but come on," one person tweeted.

"Stop it!" another person exclaimed.

"Trolling like a b***h ain’t you tired? 60 year old n***a," someone else commented.

"You're still doing too much...." another user added.

However, others were seemingly joyful at the post, claiming Serena Williams' true colors were finally emerging.

"The real Serena finally emerges. Thanks Jason," one person posted.

"I will never look at her the same again," another person added.

"Too real and has always inspired," someone else commented.

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Kendrick Lamar name-dropped Serena Williams in Not Like Us

The fiery rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake in 2024 saw either rappers name-drop several celebrities in their songs, including fellow artists (Lil Yachty, Metro Boomin, and Rick Ross, to name a few), NBA stars (LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and DeMar DeRozan) and even Tennis legend Serena Williams.

For context, Drake and Serena Williams were rumored to have dated sometime between 2011 and 2015. While neither party confirmed the dating rumors, Drake mentioned Williams and her husband in Middle of the Ocean from his 2022 album, Her Loss.

“Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie, he claim we don’t got a problem but no, boo, it’s like you comin’ for sushi. We might pop up on’em at will like Suzuki,” he rapped.

When Lamar released Not Like Us in May during his rap beef with Drake, he seemingly alluded to this song in a throwaway line, warning Drake to "not speak on Serena." While Lamar and Williams had no previous association, they both grew up in Compton, California.

“From Alondra down to Central, n***a better not speak on Serena,” Lamar rapped in Not Like Us.

So it stands to reason that Lamar invited Serena Williams to join him for his Not Like Us performance, where she did the crip-walk. Notably, the tennis player had previously garnered criticism after she celebrated her win in the 2012 London Olympics by doing the crip walk.

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In other news, Jason Whitlock and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams' husband, engaged in a war of words on X on February 11 after the sports commentator criticized Williams for doing the crip walk. After Ohanian took to the social media platform to defend his wife amid backlash, Whitlock accused Ohanian of being "a true beta."

"This is Serena’s husband, a true beta. He’s mad at me rather than the wife Crip walking and still thinking about Drake. Simp," Whitlock posted.

Following this, Ohania responded with a sharp reply, accusing Whitlock of peaking in high school and fueling his victim complex with criticism. He urged the sports columnist to work on himself to become a better person.