Whoopi Goldberg Slams Stephen A. Smith for Linking Serena Williams’ Super Bowl Dance to Ex Drake

Celebrity Gossips
Bente Birkeland
February 13, 2025
0
152
14 minutes read

FILE – Whoopi Goldberg attends an event, July 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Whoopi Goldberg has called out ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith for his comments on Serena Williams’ 2025 Super Bowl halftime cameo, arguing that his take completely missed the point of her performance. During Monday’s episode of The View, Goldberg, 69, fired back at Smith’s suggestion that Williams’ dance during Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us was a dig at her ex-boyfriend, Drake.

“Why wasn’t it, ‘Damn, Serena was great’? Why is it about some ex-boyfriend she hasn’t thought of?” Goldberg asked. “All you can think of is her ex-boyfriend? I don’t understand. Why would you even think it was [about Drake]? Why would you think she’s not smart enough?”

Also Read: Brian Austin Green Exposes Feud with Machine Gun Kelly Amid Explosive Megan Fox Drama
Also Read: Kanye West Failed to Secure Copyrights for a Book Title Inspired by His Wife, Bianca Censori

Williams, 43, electrified the stage when she joined Lamar’s performance and broke into the same Crip Walk she famously did after winning Olympic gold in 2012. It was a moment of joy, cultural pride, and a nod to her roots—but Smith framed it differently. On First Take, Smith claimed that if he were married to Williams, her halftime dance would have been a dealbreaker, Page Six reported.

“If I’m married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his a,” Smith said on February 10. “’Cause, clearly, you don’t belong with me. What are you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye. Bye.” Goldberg dismissed his argument outright. “She got a chance to do something she wanted to do, and she went and did it,” Goldberg said. “And instead of saying, ‘Damn, that was kind of great,’ you’re bringing it back to some old stuff.”

Stephen A Smith attends SiriusXM at Super Bowl LIX on February 06, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Williams has been happily married to tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian since 2017, and Goldberg questioned why people still try to make everything about her past. “Stop trying to make it about somebody’s man. It ain’t always about somebody’s man. It’s about the person. Forget all that other stuff. We do,” she said. Her co-hosts agreed. Sara Haines pointed out that Ohanian himself praised the performance, posting on X, “Pretty fantastic halftime show.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams)

More: Ellen DeGeneres Struggles with Ongoing Backlash as Hollywood Comeback Fades
More: Expert claims Kanye West’s actions do not meet the legal standards for prosecution

Sunny Hostin reminded everyone that Williams’ Crip Walk was a tribute to her upbringing, not a message to Drake. “What she was doing was being her authentic self, an homage to her roots from Compton, and it was Black joy and Black excellence,” Hostin said. “You’ve got the greatest female athlete of all time coming out and enjoying herself.”

Even Alyssa Farah Griffin argued that if Williams had wanted to send a message to Drake, it would have been fair, given his history of shading Ohanian. “He’s taken digs at her husband,” Griffin said. “I don’t even know that it counts as petty when he’s been deeply petty to you and you’re just clapping back.”

Williams herself cleared up any speculation, revealing on Instagram that Lamar and his team had long wanted to collaborate with her. “When @kendricklamar and team called and was like ‘we’ve been trying to do something forever, what about this? We loved your Crip Walk at the Olympics after you won the gold medal.’ I’m like Super Bowl? Are you serious? When in the world would I ever be able to dance at a Super Bowl? (Never) let’s do it!” she wrote.

With that, Williams put the rumors to rest, confirming her halftime moment had nothing to do with Drake—and everything to do with celebrating a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.