Keke Palmer has been on our screens for over 20 years, entertaining us through film, TV and music. While a relatively private person, as her career has skyrocketed in the last few years, so has public interest in her personal life and upbringing as a child star.
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While the release of her memoir last year saw her opening up more than ever and taking control of her own narrative, her press run ahead of her upcoming film “One of Them Days” sees her pulling back the curtain even further, speaking publicly about her child acting career, her “toxic” dynamic with her ex, and more.
Child Stardom Was Not Easy
In her cover story at The Cut, the writer spends much of the story going over Palmer’s career as a child star, from her breakout role in “Akeelah and the Bee” to her leading role on the popular Nickelodeon sitcom, “True Jackson VP.” Despite her success, she recognized very quickly she could not compare herself to her contemporaries at the time, like Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus.
“It was very much ‘That’s the Black show’ or ‘That’s Keke Palmer, the Black girl on the network,’” she recalled. She went on to explain that there is “a loss of innocence” that comes once you become aware that you’re treated differently that she “accepted a long time ago.” Now, “I don’t compare myself to anyone, but I definitely don’t compare myself to any white person.”
Family Pressure
One aspect of child stardom she also discusses is the pressure she felt as the family’s main source of income. Intense for any person, let alone a child, this led to Palmer feeling isolated from her family as she knew there was an expectation for her to keep booking jobs for the sake of the family.
“I hated my parents for a long time,” she said. “There was so much pressure to rise to the occasion for my community, for my parents, for my siblings, for their sacrifices. They weren’t saying it, but that was the reality. Because I’m the one that we all came here for.”
More ‘Scream Queens’ Tea
As we reported, one of the biggest stories to come out of her memoir is her experience on the set of Ryan Murphy’s “Scream Queens” series, including a moment where television producer Murphy himself “ripped” into her. When asked if she had heard from Murphy since the memoir came out, she explained in the interview she has not heard “directly” from him. “I definitely think that he thought that I could have been attacking him or trying to shame him or send the mobs after him,” she revealed. “But the point of my bringing up Ryan Murphy wasn’t ‘F**k Ryan Murphy, he ain’t shit.’ It was, ‘Look, I did what I had to do for me, and it caused me an issue with one of the most popular and successful men in the industry, and sometimes getting to your personal success may cost you to do the same thing.’”
Working with SZA was a Dream
“One of Them Days,” her upcoming film with music superstar SZA and produced by Issa Rae, is already shaping up to be one of the most exciting releases of the year. She also spoke to working with the “Kill Bill” singer on the film in the interview, calling her “just naturally hilarious.” She added, “As vulnerable and excitable and eccentric as SZA is, she also is very serious, very brilliant, and a focused person.”
Her ‘Toxic’ Dynamic with Her Ex and Co-Parenting
One story that thrust Palmer even further into the spotlight in recent years is her relationship with Darius Jackson, from him publicly calling her out after she attended an Usher concert to Palmer eventually filing a restraining order against him, claiming he was physically and emotionally abusive to him. “There’s a sensationalization that happens with that word,” she explained when the term “domestic violence” gets brought up in the interview. “But there really are often no other words to describe such a toxic dynamic.”
She goes on to say that having her son, Leodis, gave her the strength to leave, “before it had the chance of becoming something that I had to survive.” She adds that she “hated” her story becoming such a media sensation, saying that her “personal junk” didn’t deserve a place at the center of her career she worked so hard to build. “When it was happening, it was horrible because I could not get to the message of the story, in real time, now, I’m able to articulate it, and I’m able to say what the story will be.”
Fans of Palmer’s, of course, have taken to social media with reactions to the story. One user speaking specifically to how Palmer was often underrecognized compared to the white child stars of the time, wrote, “now that i think about it, keke palmer was on disney channel, had her own show in nick, and was known by the masses for starring in feature films… truly in a league of her own but the media wouldn’t let you realize that.”
Another agreed, writing, “Points were made. ‘A loss of innocence’ is such a heartbreaking way to put it, cause there’s no going back. To Keke’s point, Raven Symone should be hailed as Hollywood’s elite, and well...”
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