A large portion of Keke Palmer‘s early success is credited to her starring on Nickelodeon‘s True Jackson, VP. However, that accomplishment was overshadowed by her being labeled as the “Black girl on the network” and other associated limitations.
“I wasn’t necessarily in the same conversations as Victoria Justice or Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus at that time,” Palmer explained to The Cut in regard to “people were putting limitations” on her at that time.
She added, “It was very much ‘That’s the Black show’ or ‘That’s Keke Palmer, the Black girl on the network.’” The now 31-year-old noted that there’s a certain “loss of innocence” that comes with a realization of that stature.
Palmer expressed, “There is a loss of innocence that comes with the awareness that you’re treated differently that I’d accepted a long time ago. I don’t compare myself to anyone but I definitely don’t compare myself to any white person.”
Palmer starred on the hit sitcom for three seasons from 2008 through 2011 as True Jackson — a teenager hired to be Vice President of a fashion company. Near the show’s end, Justice starred on Victorious from 2010 through 2013 while Gomez and Cyrus starred on their own respective sitcoms on Disney Channel.
The KeyTV founder also opened up about transitioning into adult roles after True Jackson, VP.
“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. 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,” she noted.
She turned to music initially, but it made her feel “soulless.” Since then, she’s starred in CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story as Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, landed a recurring role on Star, written two memoirs, starred in Jordan Peele’s Nope, made history as the first Black woman to win an Emmy as a game show host, and launched her own network in 2022.
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