Keke Palmer recently opened up to The Cut about how she learned rather quickly as a young actor in Hollywood that “people were putting limitations on me.” Palmer headlined the popular Nickelodeon show “True Jackson, VP,” for three seasons totaling 53 episodes, from 2008 to 2011. She was 15 years old when the show premiered to record ratings on Nick.
Despite Palmer finding great success as a Nickelodeon teen star, she said “I wasn’t necessarily in the same conversations as Victoria Justice or Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus at that time.” Those actors headlined their own successful shows “Victorious,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Hannah Montana,” respectively. Palmer said her series got isolated and “it was very much ‘That’s the Black show’ or ‘That’s Keke Palmer, the Black girl on the network.’”
“There is a loss of innocence that comes with the awareness that you’re treated differently that I’d accepted a long time ago,” Palmer said, noting that being othered on television was hardly a new experience for her, as she was the only Black girl in her private school class growing up in Illinois. “I don’t compare myself to anyone but I definitely don’t compare myself to any white person.”
Popular on Variety
While Gomez and Cyrus’ series found success on the Disney Channel, Justice’s “Victorious” was a fellow Nickelodeon show. Palmer and these three actors all pivoted between acting and music as teen stars to varying levels of success.
When “True Jackson” ended its run in 2011, Palmer was 18 years old and started to audition for movie projects like a “Fast and Furious” movie. It was a bumpier part of her career.
“You’re at this weird age where you’re too young for the kind of roles that you would want and you’re too old for the kind of roles you used to get,” Palmer said. “Your brand was made up of you being a kid, and you’re not a kid anymore. So you have to build a new one.”
Palmer is currently making the press rounds in support of her upcoming comedy “One of Them Days,” which co-stars Grammy winner SZA. The film opens in theaters Jan. 17 from Sony. Head over to The Cut’s website to read Palmer’s profile in its entirety.