Keke Palmer Winks at Vegas Serenade Drama in Usher’s ‘Boyfriend’ Video: ‘I Am a Mother, After All’
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When Usher serenaded Keke Palmer during his Las Vegas residency last month, the moment set a sector of the internet ablaze. It was actually Palmer’s boyfriend at the time, Darius Jackson, who struck the match when he tweeted to complain about her sheer dress and black bodysuit. “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom,” he wrote about Palmer, with whom he has a six-month-old baby. But the joke is on him. Not only is she a mom fully embracing this new era of her life — she’s also the star of the music video for “Boyfriend,” a new single from Usher himself.
“Somebody said that your boyfriend’s looking for me,” Usher sings on the record. “Well, he should know I’m pretty easy to find/Just look for me wherever he sees you.” In the video, Palmer gets herself ready for a night out with her girls at the casino, strutting down the hallway with bold blue streaks in her hair and singing along to Usher’s 2001 classic “U Remind Me” in the elevator. A split second after locking eyes with the musician, Palmer suddenly transforms into him, rocking the same silver Usher chain and aviators in an identical outfit. The actress also has the singer’s choreography on lock, down to his signature foot shuffle.
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Sharing the video on social media, Palmer wrote: “Usher! I remember when I was 12 and auditioned for ‘In The Mix’ You have been killing it all my life. As a true lover of the arts, your talent and craftsmanship are a rare combination that I aspire to achieve as a performer. You are a living legend who is worthy of awe! Thank you for encouraging me and seeing me as the entertainer I am.”
She added: “I know I’m a gUrL but when I watched your videos, I never wanted to be the girl in them, I wanted to be YOU. Thank you for making a dream come true.”
In the final scene of the video, Palmer realizes it was all a dream, and she had actually fallen asleep before she had a chance to step out. “I’m so tired,” she says with a sigh before winking at the camera and adding: “I am a mother, after all.”
When Jackson first decided to make his dissatisfaction with Palmer’s outfit a public conversation rather than a private one between two parents, the internet came to her defense — she is the social media meme queen, after all. But the actress never publicly commented on the matter. The closest thing to a response came from an interview she had been in the middle of with The Cut while her boyfriend was getting jumped by her defenders on Twitter.
“After having my baby, I’ve gotten so much more powerful. We’re going to lean into this new body, and I think that is the whole aura of what’s happening with me in this big boss era as I come into my 30s, and I have my baby boy, and I’m just continuing to spread my wings as a young woman,” said Palmer, who will turn 30 years old later this month.
Sharing a word of advice for other mothers, whether they’re resting at the center of social media discourse or not, Palmer encouraged: “Do you, new moms. Do you. Girl, if there’s one person on this earth that loves you for sure, it’s that baby. Be happy, because there’s no love like it. Somebody loving you like that, hell, who cares?”
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