Williams' participation took on special significance due to 37-year-old Lamar's ongoing feud with rapper Drake, who Williams reportedly dated off and on between 2011 and 2015. Lam

However, PageSix reported in 2015 that the two were not dating despite being "seen looking very close at dinner" after Drake watched Williams at the Women’s Tennis Association tournament. A source also told PageSix at the time that “Serena briefly dated Drake around 2011 and even though it didn’t end that well, they have remained friends since."

Williams surprised Super Bowl fans by crip-walking during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show performance while he sang his Drake diss track, “Not Like Us.”