Serena Williams confronted criticism over her Super Bowl appearance with a bold response, shutting down speculation.

Serena Williams is apparently unfazed by the backlash over her viral appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show earlier this month. “Gosh I’m so late to the game (I’ve been sick) & busy investing in billion dollar companies and running @WYNbeauty

Serena Williams took to TikTok to share a behind-the-scenes look into her Super Bowl LIX appearance. On Sunday (Feb. 9), the tennis legend was a surprise guest at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance.

Serena Williams is clearing up the confusion about her Super Bowl cameo—and, no, it wasn’t a diss. See what she had to say here.

The athlete’s statement comes after her husband, Alexis Ohanian, defended her against remarks made by Stephen A. Smith and Jason Whitlock, with the latter calling him a “beta” and “simp” for doing so and accusing Williams of still being hung up on her ex, the “Gimme A Hug” artist.

I t was a brief but blockbuster cameo. For less than five seconds in the closing moments of the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, as headliner Kendrick Lamar performed his Grammy-award winning Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” the camera flipped to the corner of the stage to show 43-year-old tennis all-time-great Serena Williams crip walking.

Serena Williams rocked the Nike 24.7 line during her iconic Super Bowl performance, so you know we had to put it to the test.

Looks like haters are still mad about Serena Williams’ crip-walking on the Super Bowl stage, but clearly the Grand Slam champion and her husband, co-founder of Reddit Alexis Ohanian, are unfazed. Not like she needed to clear up speculation surrounding her jaw dropping appearance,

Serena Williams is unbothered by the chatter about her surprise Super Bowl LIX halftime show appearance. "Gosh I'm so late to the game (I've been sick) & busy investing in billion dollar companies and running @WYNbeauty