Serena Williams brought the house down at the 2024 ESPY Awards with her sharp wit and playful jabs. Hosting the event at the Dolby Theater on July 11, the tennis legend aimed her humor at rapper Drake, poking fun at his long-standing beef with Kendrick Lamar.
Stunning in a black dress, Serena captivated the audience with her six-minute monologue. “If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us – not even me – should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar,” she quipped. Adding to the humor, she performed a Crip dance to Kendrick’s new single “Not Like Us” playing in the background.
The recently retired 42-year-old went on, “He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re going to ‘Forrest Gump’ him. ‘Seat’s taken.'”
Serena has openly praised Kendrick before. At the 2024 Essence Fest earlier this month, the seven-time Wimbledon champion expressed her love for “Not Like Us,” calling it the hit of the summer. “I love that song. It’s like the hit of the summer,” she said. “When they play that jam, I’m jamming. That jam is jamming.”
She continued, “You definitely Crip walking in that song. It’s so cool what he did though. Bringing everyone to the stage? That was incredible. I couldn’t believe it.”
Kendrick’s track also mentioned Serena, who was rumored to have dated Drake in the early 2010s. “From Alondra down to Central, n***a better not speak on Serena,” Kendrick rapped.
Fans loved Serena’s monologue. “She is being messy. Lol. Remember her and Drake used to date,” one fan commented. “That’s right Serena, clap back!!” another added.
Others saw Serena’s jabs as a response to Drake’s diss of her husband, Alexis Ohanian, in his song “Her Loss.” “He made a whole diss about her husband, so yeah, I love it,” one fan noted. Another echoed, “Drake shaded her baby daddy first, so she got her lick back.”