*Stephen A. Smith is standing by his criticism of Serena Williams’ Crip Walking during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance.
Smith received backlash after commenting on Williams’ surprise appearance while Lamar performed his hit song “Not Like Us”, a diss track about her ex-boyfriend Drake.
“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 in Monday’s episode of ESPN’s First Take.
Social media users slammed his remarks, with Whoopi Goldberg also calling out the ESPN commentator. Per THR, X user @MediumSizeMeech wrote: “A 57 year old UNMARRIED man with a receding hairline who has never BEEN married mind you, saying he would divorce our greatest living athlete who has been happily married for 8 years to her very rich and loving husband—keep quiet forehead.”
Smith responded to the tweet, writing, “Please go back and look at exactly what I said. I was talking overall from a man’s perspective — highlighting what most men would think.”
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Please go back and look at exactly what I said. I was talking overall from a man’s perspective — highlighting what most men would think. I didn’t utter a single disrespectful word about Serena. No issues with folks getting upset of literal serious stuff one’s pissed about. This… https://t.co/JtKlUZs15R
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 12, 2025
“I didn’t utter a single disrespectful word about Serena,” he continued. “No issues with folks getting upset of literal serious stuff one’s pissed about. This doesn’t qualify peeps. Come on. We were joking around on @FirstTake. Damn y’all! It’s not that serious.”
Williams revealed Tuesday on Instagram that her Crip Walk during Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime performance was at his request. The tennis legend said she joined the show because the rapper—who, like her, is from Compton—personally invited her to take part.
Her appearance sparked debate online, with many questioning if it was intentionally directed at Kendrick’s nemesis Drake. After her performance, Serena shared a clip on X showing her backstage and joking: “Man, I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon! Ooh, I would’ve been fined!”
Williams faced criticism in 2012 for crip walking after her victory over Maria Sharapova at the London Olympics. Her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, weighed in on his wife’s Crip Walk after the halftime show. In an X post, Ohanian wrote, “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.”
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