Stephen A. Smith does not have what it takes to be Serena Williams’ man.
After the tennis legend made an eyebrow-raising cameo in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime performance—where the Grammy winner performed his Drake diss track “Not Like Us”—the ESPN analyst admitted he couldn’t be in Alexis Ohanian’s shoes. (Serena dated Drake in the early 2010s.)
“If I’m your husband, I’m thinking, ‘Why are you up there trolling him—trolling your ex?’” Stephen posited during a Feb. 10 episode of the First Take podcast. “If I’m married, and my wife is going to troll her ex—go back to his ass. Because clearly you don’t belong with me. What you worried about him for—and you with me?”
Stephen—who later pointed out that SZA, who also performed with Kendrick, also dated Drake—added, “Everybody knows that she and Drake were together at one time, and it seemed like everyone wanted to get their lick.”
Meanwhile, Ryan Clark pushed back on Stephen’s take saying, “If you with Serena Williams, you’re going to be a kept man anyway—don’t start that.”
And Shannon Sharpe added, “I think [Alexis] is doing pretty well. He founded Reddit and then he sold Reddit for a big chunk of change. I think he OK.”
By the end of the conversation, Stephen appeared to change his tune, and good thing—as Alexis—who shares daughters Olympia, 7, and Adira, 16 months with Serena—took to X to congratulate Kendrick and his wife on their performance, writing, “Pretty fantastic halftime show.”
Beyond dating Drake, Serena’s appearance in Kendrick’s performance was significant as they both hail from the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles. Of course, the 23-time Grand Slam title holder also couldn’t contain her excitement over performing alongside the “Humble” rapper.
“Let’s go Super Bowl halftime,” the 43-year-old wrote on X alongside photos from her cameo moment. “I died a little!”
Keep reading for more highlights from Super Bowl 2025…
Ashley Avignone, Alana Haim, Taylor Swift, Este Haim & Danielle Haim
Cynthia Erivo
Brenda Song & Macaulay Culkin
Leonardo DiCaprio
Bradley Cooper & Daughter Lea
Seal
Teyana Taylor & Karrueche Tran
Russell Wilson & Ciara
Lady Gaga
Dylan Sprouse & Barbara Palvin Sprouse
Kevin Hart
Anne Hathaway
Serena Williams
SZA
Paul Rudd
Brittany Mahomes & Patrick Mahomes
Jordon Hudson & Nikki Glaser
Donald Trump & Ivanka Trump
Taylor Swift & Ice Spice
Bradley Cooper
Samuel L. Jackson
Ledisi
Master P
Jon Batiste
Kendrick Lamar
Jon Hamm
Harry Connick Jr.
Jay-Z, Blue Ivy & Rumi
Pete Davidson
Olivia Culpo
