Keke Palmer opens up about the more stressful side of childhood fame. As a star on Nickelodeon, she often felt “trapped” because she could never go anywhere without being noticed. Here’s everything she had to say inside…
We’ve watched Keke Palmer go from a child star to a full blown Hollywood actress over the last decade and a half. While she appeared to be always cheerful and upbeat, there were times when fame got the best of her, especially as a child star.
Looking back, a lot of times Keke felt “trapped” while she was working on her Nickelodeon show, “True Jackson, VP.” By the way, she’s the first Black woman to land her own Nickelodeon series.
During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter for her cover story, the NOPE actress, 29, recalled a specific time where she felt like she just couldn’t get away from being famous.
At the age of 15, the Nickelodeon Cruises (now defunct) program offered her an all-expenses-paid trip. Before going on the trip, she knew she would have to engage with fans and sign autographs, but she didn’t understand how demanding that would be, considering she was just trying to have fun with her family. She spent most of her time in her hotel room.
“I felt like I was walking around in a SpongeBob suit that I couldn’t take off,” the EMMY winner shared. “I was trapped. I couldn’t leave my room without someone coming up to me calling me True Jackson. What you are, to everyone, is just a character … just part of their experience,” she continued.
Things got so overwhelming on the trip, she eventually fainted from anxiety.
Even now, sometimes fans freak her out a bit when they see her out in public.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was in Arizona with my boyfriend and his dad for an Eagles game,” the “Masters of Sex” star shared. “We ended up at a Dave & Buster’s and somebody was like, ‘What are you doing here?’ Same reason as you, dude! Playing games and winning tickets. Where else do you expect me to do that?”
HA!
In July, Keke was made aware of a Twitter thread that compared her career to “Euphoria” star Zendaya’s career.
At the time, her movie, NOPE, was No. 1 at the domestic box office. Both are Black women in their 20s who began acting at a young age and have won EMMYs, but the user attributed their perceived differences in recognition to colorism, namely that Keke had less “mainstream popularity” than Zendaya due to her lighter skin. The HUSTLERS actress quickly gathered those who had that belief, and she made it crystal clear she couldn’t be compared to ANYONE because her resume speaks for itself.
“What I wanted people to understand is that comparing me to someone solely based off of our complexions is colorism,” she told THR about the experience. “There are very real scenarios of colorism, racism and sexism. You don’t need to make them up. And I don’t want these little Black girls to be out there thinking they’ll never be enough, especially in their community’s eyes.”
Whew! A word.
You can read her full interview here.
Our good sis STAYS booked and busy. Keke recently celebrated the launch of her new podcast, titled “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer,” which streams exclusively on Amazon Music (included with Amazon Prime).
Amazon described the podcast stating, “Prime members can join Keke each week as she geeks out with friends, family, celebrity guests, and some esteemed experts, and journey down the rabbit hole into her insatiable quest for answers, opinion, and the tea on everything.”
For her first episode, Keke discusses OnlyFans with her mother and celebrity guest Blac Chyna.
Swipe through her podcast premiere party flicks below:
Also…
Keke teamed up with McCormick to spread holiday cheer this holiday season.
Now available for purchase, McCormick has released a brand-new spice kit called The TEN, a fun and flavorful kit of essential ingredients meant to inspire “seasonings’ greetings” for cooks of all backgrounds. McCormick will also spice up the holidays with online giveaways, a special holiday recipe from Keke Palmer, and in-person gifting trucks for Black Friday shoppers – making The TEN the most giftable set of the season.
Sweet! Keke knows how to keep a bag.
Photo: Fred Duval/Shutterstock
