Serena Williams, Crip Walk, Young Thug YSL Rico trial: Explained

Serena Williams is back in the spotlight after being mentioned in the Young Thug YSL Rico trials. Find out more here!

Serena Williams has once again made her way into pop culture, this time in an unexpected way, as part of the Young Thug YSL Rico trials.

Jeffery Lamar Williams, known in the music industry as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is credited as a pioneer of the mumble rap genre and founded YSL, a record label based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Young Thug has had a history of conflicts with the law for gang-related, drug possession, and firearm possession activities over the years. In 2022, he was arrested in Atlanta on similar charges, leading to a search of his home and additional felonies being added to his name.

According to prosecutors, YSL was led by Williams, who "ordered and oversaw crimes including murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, witness intimidation, and drug dealing," as reported by the New York Times.

Following a year-long preparation, a RICO criminal trial began against him in November 2023, with Williams standing accused with five other co-conspirators. After a brief delay in proceedings when one of Young Thug's co-defendants was stabbed in jail, the trial resumed in January 2024 and is currently on its 17th day.

Williams has maintained his innocence, with his primary lawyer arguing that he doesn't need the money from killing people and running a street gang.

During the trial, a co-defendant was interrogated and asked if he knew who Serena Williams was, and if he had seen her do the 'Crip Walk' at Wimbledon after winning the 2012 London Olympics.

For those unaware, the Crip Walk was popularized by Crips gang members during their rivalry with the Bloods gang. The Crip Walk quickly became a symbol of affiliation with the gang, with some reports claiming that it was even performed after killing someone to show that the violence was perpetrated by a Crips member.

Williams celebrated her Olympic gold medal in London with a similar dance performance, which she clarified was purely as a dance move and not because of any gang-related reasons. She received criticism at the time from pundits in the US but stated that she did not care what people said and that she was just excited by the win at the time.

While Williams admitted that the move was getting too much attention, she reiterated that it was just something that "happened" in the heat of the moment and that she had not planned on celebrating like that beforehand.