Serena Williams and Drake may have once enjoyed a close relationship, but that didn’t stop the tennis superstar from roasting the OVO founder at the ESPYs.
On Thursday evening (July 11), Williams delivered a rip-roaring six-minute monologue while hosting the 2024 ESPY Awards. She kicked off with a bang, taking aim at Drake and offering advice following his epic battle with Kendrick Lamar.
“If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us… not a single one of us, not even me, should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar,” she began. The song “Not Like Us” began to play, and the Compton-raised sporting legend crip-walked to the track.
Williams continued with another dig at Drake and some more crip-walking. “He will make your hometown not like you,” she added. “The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re gonna Forest Gump him, seats taken…”
Serena Williams crip waking to ‘Not Like Us’ and clowning Drake on stage at the ESPYs 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/y3CUZGmYWO
— AJR (@ajr_bcg) July 12, 2024
Serena Williams heaped praise on “Not Like Us” during a panel discussion at Essence Fest in New Orleans earlier this month. “I love that song,” she said. “It’s like the hit of the summer. When they play that jam, I’m jamming. That jam is jamming.”
Drake and Serena Williams were rumored to have dated starting in 2011, although they never confirmed their relationship. The speculation ended in 2017 when Williams married Alexis Ohanian months after welcoming their first child.
In 2022, Drake dissed Williams’ husband on the song “Middle of the Ocean,” calling him a groupie. However, Ohanian took it as a compliment, declaring himself “the best groupie for my wife & daughter.”
Nonetheless, K. Dot was unimpressed and warned Drake, “Better not speak on Serena,” in “Not Like Us.”