Serena Williams received a rapturous reception during her ESPYs presentation, after which she took aim at Drake, Travis Kelce and Shohei Ohtani in a six-minute comedic monologue.
The tennis icon attended her first awards ceremony at the Dolby Theater on Thursday night, with her close friend Meghan Markle sitting front row to watch the event.
The recently retired Williams, 42, took the stage in a black dress to a huge round of applause, immediately choosing Drake as her first target.
“If I’ve learned one thing this year, it’s that none of us… none of us, not even me, should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar,” she joked.
“He’s gonna make your hometown not like you. Next time Drake’s on the sidelines at a Raptors game, they’re gonna call him Forrest Gump.”
Serena Williams received a huge round of applause as she took the stage at the ESPYs in LA
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were among the big names who got a shoutout from Williams
The comment comes after a long-running feud between the two rap stars, which began in early 2010 but escalated earlier this year after the release of Kendrick’s ‘Like That’.
Williams continued her monologue, explaining why she chose the ESPYs as her first hosting gig: “You might be wondering why I’m doing this… first of all, any opportunity to wear 16 outfits in three hours, I’ll take it.”
The next to be targeted was Travis Kelce. He wasn’t immediately named, but was referred to by a slightly different name.
“Congratulations 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. I understand Jaylen Brown spends that much on his beard too.’
Subsequently, there were complaints about the continued growth of women’s sport, but Williams was also keen to address the pay gap that still exists between men and women.
Williams joked that rapper Drake might have a hard time the next time he’s on the Raptors sideline
Williams came across as a natural during her comedic speech at the start of the awards ceremony
“Shohei Ohtani got $16 million stolen from his interpreter and didn’t even know it,” Williams joked, to widespread laughter. “Male athletes get paid so much more than female athletes that they don’t even realize they’re losing $16 million. Trust me, I would have noticed.”
Finally, the tennis legend referred to the controversy surrounding Prince Harry and her friend Meghan Markle, who watched from the front row.
Prince Harry was on hand to accept the Pat Tillman Award, but was met with widespread criticism in the run-up to the ceremony.
“Prince Harry and Meghan are here, let’s do it for them,” Williams noted, before adding: “Harry and Meghan, please try not to breathe too hard tonight because this is my night and I don’t want to be overshadowed by the accusation that you’re using too much oxygen.”