Keke Palmer says in the face of public scrutiny, she just "kept going" no matter what
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Following an extended Memorial Day break, REVOLT returned with another episode of “The Jason Lee Show” this week. Host Lee has interviewed various celebrities across the entertainment industry for the series, including the likes of Cardi B, Lala Anthony, NLE Choppa, Amanda Seales, and more. On yesterday’s (June 14) episode, the famed blogger sat down with none other than actress, singer, producer, and television host herself, Keke Palmer. The Nope actress stopped by to discuss several topics, including how her life has changed since welcoming her first child with boyfriend Darius Jackson, her illustrious career in Hollywood, and so much more. Keep reading to find out what you missed.
As a proud August Virgo, Palmer didn’t think she could get any more confident, but welcoming her son, Leodis Andrellton Jackson, in February shifted her perspective. “I feel like I had a good life before, but the way that he has inspired me,” she began as she tried to find the best way to describe her new state. “Maybe it’s because he’s so important that he put everything else into perspective, where nothing is as big of a deal as my baby is.”
“So, that’s given me a sense of ease and confidence that I didn’t even know… I didn’t know I could get more confident. I’m a Virgo, honey. How could you get more confident?” she teased.
However, the new mom did admit, “I expected the worse” in regard to her postpartum journey, adding, “Because I knew that I was going to be impacted in a crazy way by having a kid.” She continued, “I think maybe I even overshot in my mind, and so I was a little bit like, ‘OK, this maybe isn’t as bad’ because I just thought maybe this is going to be the worst, physically and mentally.” Yet, when the time came, the actress said she felt more optimistic, sharing, “I think I was like, ‘OK, I can take this, I can handle this.’” In fact, the “Akeelah and the Bee” star doesn’t believe any mother should put pressure on themselves after having a child “in any regard.”
She acknowledged that because she is a public figure working in Hollywood, keeping up her appearance is part of her job; however, it isn’t for everyone. “I was being very objective about when do I start working out again, when is that going to be important to me, and I just took my time with it,” she explained. Time is something the veteran entertainer, who got her start in films like Barbershop 2: Back in Business, knows a lot about. When asked how she has managed to keep a rather polished image throughout the years, the actress admitted that it hasn’t always been easy.
Palmer highlighted that being in the public eye often comes with a lot of “unfair scrutiny.” “I don’t think a lot of people could deal with the kind of PR… Think about your worst moment. Nobody saw it, probably,” she told Lee.
“And then think about your worse moments happening in front of people and then trying your damnedest to get over it, and people keep bringing it up,” she added. “I do give a lot of people that are in this industry, especially the children, a lot of grace where that’s [a] concern.”
Palmer continued, “So, I don’t feel like I’m just so perfect. I just feel like, hey, thank God I’ve been able to get through. And you know what I think more than anything? The truth is I just kept going.”
The industry powerhouse revealed that when she would try new characters or “anytime I did my sketch, they’d be like, ‘Keke, pack it up. You need to be on the big screen.’ You know, and it’d be… little things that people will say, but I just kept moving forward because I knew what I was doing. I knew the kind of brand that I was evolving into and what I was building towards. And so, I just really quieted a lot of that noise. It’s not that it didn’t happen, I just tried to move forward, beyond it.”
Having been in the entertainment industry for two decades, there’s almost no venture Keke Palmer hasn’t tapped into. In 2022, she announced the launch of her own digital TV network, KeyTV, focusing on showcasing a new generation of creators. When asked why she decided to create her own network on top of everything else she accomplished, Palmer explained, “I kind of felt like, ‘Well, I don’t always want to be the talent.’ I think I always perform, right, but I like to Tyler Perry it every now and then, and just pull it back, and be able to rest, and have a family and also invest in other people than myself.”
While Palmer said she’s very happy with the career she built, the actress shared she also wants “to be able to learn how to manifest what I’ve created for myself into other opportunities for others.” She continued, “I grew up watching people like Diddy do things like REVOLT. So it’s all about, to me, taking the brands you have and trying to figure out how to create opportunities outside of that. So bringing opportunities to more people like yourself.”
The Alice star said she’s also looking to teach her viewers about the ins and outs of the business. “We’re not charging you anything extra because I want everybody to have access to it, to learn about the industry, and also enjoy seeing some new people get opportunities that maybe they wouldn’t otherwise have had,” she said.
Like always, if you liked what you heard, tune into new episodes of “The Jason Lee Show” every Tuesday on REVOLT’s TV channel at 10 p.m. ET as well as every Wednesday on the REVOLT website, YouTube Channel, and app at 5 p.m. ET. Also, don’t forget to watch the latest installment with Keke Palmer here.
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