Serena Williams received a rapturous reception for her performance as host of the ESPYs, before taking aim at Drake, Travis Kelce and Shohei Ohtani in a six-minute, joke-filled monologue.
The tennis icon headlined her first awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre on Thursday night, with her good friend Meghan Markle in the front row to watch the occasion.
Wearing a black dress, the recently retired Williams, 42, took the stage to great applause, before immediately choosing Drake as her first target.
“If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us… none of us, not even me, should be fighting with Kendrick Lamar,” he joked.
“It’s going to make your hometown not like you. Next time Drake sits on the court at a Raptors game, they’re going to kill him like Forrest Gump.”
The comment comes amid an ongoing feud between the two rap sensations, which began in the early 2010s but escalated earlier this year amid the release of Kendrick’s “Like That.”
Continuing the monologue, Williams went on to explain why she had chosen the ESPYs as her first hosting job, noting, “You might be wondering why I’m doing this in the first place… any opportunity to wear 16 outfits in three hours, I take it.”
Next in the firing line was Travis Kelce, whose name was not immediately called and was instead referred to slightly differently.
“Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs,” Williams said. “This year, Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend won a Super Bowl.
‘Travis and Taylor reportedly spend $100,000 a day on their romance… that’s a lot of money, that’s how much I’m told Jaylen Brown spends on his beard.’
The continued growth of women’s sport was then acknowledged, but Williams wanted to put an end to the pay gap that still persists between men and women.
Williams joked that rapper Drake might have a tough time the next time he sits on the court for the Raptors.
“Shohei Ohtani had $16 million stolen from his translator and he didn’t even notice,” Williams joked, drawing much laughter. “Male athletes get paid way more than female athletes and they don’t even realize they’re losing $16 million. Believe me, I would have noticed.”
Finally, the tennis icon made reference to the controversy surrounding Prince Harry and his friend Meghan Markle, who were watching from the front row.
Prince Harry was on hand to accept the Pat Tillman Award, but received a huge backlash in the days leading up to the awards ceremony.
“Prince Harry and Meghan are here, let’s applaud them,” Williams said, before adding: “Please, Harry and Meghan, try not to breathe too much tonight because this is my night and I don’t want to be overshadowed by the accusation that you’re consuming too much oxygen.”
