Serena Williams made a surprise appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time show.

Serena Williams has been married to Alexis Ohanian for more than seven years (Image: Getty)

Serena Williams’ surprise cameo has been one of the most talked about moments of the Super Bowl.

The retired tennis star popped up in the half-time show while Kendrick Lamar performed Not Like Us, a diss track about Williams’ ex-boyfriend Drake.

However, not everyone was a fan of her appearance. ESPN presenter Stephen A. Smith suggested that Williams’ husband should leave her.

Williams has been married to Alexis Ohanian since 2017 and the pair have two children together. The 23-time Major winner started dating Ohanian shortly after breaking up with Drake in 2015. She also reportedly dated the rapper in 2011.

But sports broadcaster Smith thought Williams went too far by crip walking during Not Like Us during the half-time show, given her romantic history with Drake.

“If I’m your husband, I’m thinking, ‘Why are you up there trolling him, trolling your ex?’” he said on his First Take podcast.

“If I’m married, and my wife is going to troll her ex – go back to his a**. Because clearly you don’t belong with me. What you worried about him for – and you with me? Bye.”

Serena Williams crip walked during Kendrick Lamar’s performance of Not Like Us (Image: Getty)

Smith has received backlash for his comments, and even his podcast co-host disagreed. Retired NFL player Ryan Clark replied: “If you with Serena Williams, you’re going to be a kept man anyway, don’t start that.”

Fellow former NFL star Shannon Sharpe pointed out that Williams’ husband would be fine. “I think [Alexis Ohanian] is doing pretty well. He founded Reddit and then he sold Reddit for a big chunk of change. I think he ok,” he added.

Smith has since released a statement clarifying his comments about Williams. He tweeted: “Please go back and look at exactly what I said.

“I was talking overall from a man’s perspective — highlighting what most men would think. I didn’t utter a single disrespectful word about Serena.

“No issues with folks getting upset of literal serious stuff one’s p***ed about. This doesn’t qualify peeps. Come on. We were joking around on @FirstTake . Damn y’all! It’s not that serious.”

But Smith is still copping the heat for his remarks. Whoopi Goldberg called out Williams’ critics on Tuesday, suggesting the performance had nothing to do with her history with Drake.

“Why wasn’t it, ‘Damn, Serena was great’? Why is it about some ex-boyfriend she hasn’t thought of?” she asked. “All you can think of is her ex-boyfriend? I don’t understand. Why would you even think it was [about Drake]? Why would you think she’s not smart enough?

“She got a chance to do something she wanted to do, and she went and did it,” Goldberg continued. “Instead of saying, ‘Damn, that was kind of great,’ you’re bringing it back to some old stuff.”

There was another meaning to Williams’ cameo. After winning an Olympic gold medal in Wimbledon’s Centre Court in 2012, she celebrated with the crip walk dance and was heavily criticised.

Ohanian – who was a big fan of the half-time show – has already shared the significance of his wife’s appearance. “Some of y’all have no idea how criticised Serena was for this same dance at Wimbledon 13 years ago and it shows…. This is bigger than the music,” he wrote on social media.