Whoopi Goldberg believes Stephen A. Smith’s comments on Serena Williams’ appearance in the Super Bowl halftime show were out of bounds.
On a Tuesday episode of “The View,” Goldberg threw a flag on the play after Smith made several pointed remarks about the tennis icon. During Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show, Williams notably did the Crip Walk dance move as the rapper performed his hit Drake diss, “Not Like Us,” which sparked Smith’s ire.
“If I’m married, and my wife is going to join [in] trolling her ex, go back to his ass,” Smith said.
Upon hearing his commentary, a puzzled Goldberg asked, “Why wasn’t it, ‘Damn, Serena was great?’”
Goldberg continued to express her confusion, questioning why Smith would revive old relationship drama — referencing Williams’ rumored romantic past with Drake — rather than celebrating the achievement of a Black woman.
Her co-hosts quickly backed her up. Sunny Hostin delivered a history lesson to Smith, noting that Williams’ execution of the Crip Walk went far beyond contributing to Lamar’s rivalry against Drake.
“Serena Crip Walking was really about what happened to her when she did the same Crip Walk after she beat [Maria] Sharapova in the 2012 Olympics,” Hostin said. She added that Williams faced “a lot of backlash” for the act before explaining that the 23-time Grand Slam title holder was “paying homage to her roots from Compton” and embodying “Black joy and Black excellence.”
Goldberg then continued her remarks on Smith’s criticisms, saying that Williams “got a chance to do something she wanted to do, and she went and did it,” while noting that the former tennis player is “happily married.”
Williams’ husband, tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, didn’t find fault in her performance. While on X, formerly called Twitter, Ohanian commented that the halftime show was “pretty fantastic.”
