Keke Palmer has been making Us smile since her film debut at age 10, in 2004’s Barbershop 2. (She gave good eye roll!)
As the young performer evolved into a multi-hyphenate,, her ability to draw laughter only grew. (We’re still recovering from 2019’s “Sorry to this man” memed moment. To be fair, we wouldn’t have recognized politico Dick Cheney either.) But as Palmer, 31, illustrates in her new book, Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative, she also possesses drive and a talent to inspire. “Behind the scenes, I take all this quite seriously,” she writes. The actress/singer/podcaster dug into some of her stories in the newest issue of Us Weekly.
Idol Encounter
An episode of Law & Order: SVU profoundly impacted a 6-year-old Palmer because of sexual abuse she had experienced by another child a year earlier. When she was 12, she landed a role on the show.
“Olivia Benson, she was my detective. You get what I mean? On set, my mom had to talk me down off a ledge — I almost couldn’t do my lines, I was that starstruck by Mariska Hargitay. She was so amazing and nice. Maybe two years ago, I DM’ed her: ‘Hey, Mariska, I don’t know if you remember we did Law & Order together. I just want to say I love you and think about how kind you were and hope you’re well.’ And she responded, ‘Keke, of course I remember. I’m so proud of you and everything you’ve been doing.’ It was lovely.”
Lights! Camera! Kiss!
At 12, Palmer got her first kiss — from pal Corbin Bleu — while filming the Disney Channel movie Jump In! This was 2006, long before hiring intimacy coordinators became a common practice. For Palmer, the moment was pivotal.
“A lot of times, people aren’t thinking about kids with these things. They’re seeing us as professionals. I think people parentalize children in the industry, and we also act older because we’re trained to act older — but we’re not. So, emotionally, we can’t process, but people won’t know because on the outside, we act professionally. This was a little quick peck, but it was so meaningful to me. I had never kissed anyone outside of my family.”
Tuning Out the Noise
Despite critical love, her 2006 drama Akeelah and the Bee wasn’t an instant box-office success. She was 12 at the time and the disappointment was formative. Never again would Palmer seek out reviews and or let initial box-office results hold weight over her.
“Success is different. Dollar success and then impact success are different. And then even when it comes to impact success, sometimes people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about because Akeelah and the Bee became a hit over time. And people don’t really remember that, but I remember that because when it didn’t do what everybody thought it was going to do, I felt all s—y inside and I was like, ‘Oh, damn, everything everybody said didn’t come true.’ At that point, being that young experiencing that, I was like, ‘Yeah, I can’t do that anymore. I have to just be proud of the work I do and let that be enough.’”
Taking Back Her Power
Palmer’s personal life became internet fodder last year after then-boyfriend Darius Jackson — father to their son, Leo, now 21 months — publicly critiqued what she wore to an Usher concert. (“You a mom.”) Things got much worse between the two before they got better, but in June, she created a new Usher narrative, performing at a BET Awards tribute to him.
“I never wanted my relationship in the public eye anyway, because I know people play too much. It becomes irritating because people are speaking on things they don’t really know about. My relationship is not the center of who I am as a person. My work is.”
“At the end of the day, aren’t we all putting on a performance?” asks Palmer. “The gag is, who’s pulling your strings?”
For more on Palmer, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
