Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian endorses powerful message about 'cultural significance' of his wife's Super Bowl crip walk

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian showed support for his wife's 2025 Super Bowl halftime cameo, during Kendrick Lamar's performance at the event.

Williams made a surprise appearance on Lamar's diss track for Drake, 'Not Like Us,' and chose to crip-walk on the song. This attracted varied criticism from fans, who believed the steps to be related to gang violence and not just a simple street-style dance.

Ohanian took to X to re-share a clip in which the host could be seen referring to Williams' 2012 Olympic gold medal win. She explained how Williams had crip-walked in celebration and its 'cultural significance' at the time.

The presenter opened the video with:

"The cultural significance of Serena Williams cripwalking on the SuperBowl halftime show is so multi-layered but I want to explore one of them - it has nothing to do with Drake.

"So Venus and Serena Williams' tennis career was filled with them being targeted for racism, sexism and classism. In essence they were always deemed too ghetto or aggressive or not refined enough to be the faces of women's tennis."

The narrator shared the struggles of the former World No. 1 on-court and in the media, with clips of the Williams sisters from the early 2000s playing in the background. She stated that Serena recreating her 2012 winning moment on one of the biggest sports stages, felt empowering to her.

"By having Serena on that stage, the message that I received was to not feel being perceived as [video cuts to Samuel L Jackson saying] 'too loud, too reckless, too ghetto'. Because when you're great, you're great and there's not much anyone can do about it. And how about it that the world got to see Serena cripwalk on a global sports stage once again thanks to Kendrick Lamar."

Ohanian had previously backed Williams by shutting down negative comments made by American sports analyst Stephen A. Smith.

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian claps back at critics for the American's Super Bowl halftime appearance with Kendrick Lamar

Serena Williams at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show. Image: Getty

Serena Williams shared a behind-the-scenes clip of her Super Bowl halftime cameo in Kendrick Lamar's performance.

The video showed the 6-time US Open champion getting ready and practicing her steps for the show backstage. She could also be seen getting amped up as the time for her performance drew close. She posted a snippet of her conversation with Lamar in the caption and wrote:

"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."

In a show of support, Ohanian reacted to the post targeting critics and wrote:

"Let 'em know. Like Kendrick said, "this is bigger than music." Folks either UNDERSTOOD that Half-Time show — or REALLY didn't. But then again, very, very, very few people carry the torch you do for so many people. Can't expect some of these jokers to be on that level if they've never breathed air that thin," he wrote.

Serena Williams' performance has also received positive reviews by many including her ex-coach Renae Stubbs.