Keke Palmer is quite the sought-after actress these days. Coming off of a standout performance in 2019’s Hustlers and hosting last year’s Disney+ food sculpting competition Foodtastic (which was an acting exercise in itself), she began what is sure to be a huge 2022 with the release of Alice. As her star continues to rise, there’s little doubt her recognizability factor is also increasing, and Palmer has spoken out following an incident where a fan filmed her against her will.
Keke Palmer’s portrayal of a slave in the antebellum South for Alice was one of a number of projects viewers will see her in this year, as she’s already leant her voice as part of the cast of Human Resources and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. Still to come are two highly anticipated projects — Lightyear, where she’ll take us “to infinity and beyond” opposite Chris Evans’ Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story character’s origin story as Izzy Hawthorne, and Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror Nope. While all of this may mean less anonymity when she’s out and about, Palmer still expects fans to respect her privacy. She recently took to Twitter detailing an unfortunate fan interaction:
No means no, even when it doesn’t pertain to sex. I was at the bar the other day and this girl asked me three times for a picture and I told her three times nicely that I did not want [to] take one with her. She still [proceeded] to film me against my will..
It sounds utterly absurd that after the actress politely declined a photo three times, this fan still disrespected her by taking a video. Just because you like Keke Palmer as an actress doesn’t mean you’re entitled to her personal time. And this fan asked three times? The first “no” should have been enough. The worst part is that the actress knew if she got upset, she would be blamed for the incident — not the person bothering her. Palmer continued:
If I went off on her I would’ve been wrong, so I just nervously laughed while my privacy was invaded upon.
That’s really a shame. The anonymous fan had nothing to lose in the situation, but the actress would have gotten negative publicity simply for standing up for herself.
Fame is nothing new for Keke Palmer. She made her acting debut at age 11 in Barbershop 2: Back in Business and got her breakout role two years later in Akeelah and the Bee. Since then she’s compiled dozens of acting credits; released a studio album, played the lead role in Cinderella on Broadway; and won multiple awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and five NAACP Image Awards. Somehow, still, she’s largely considered fairly underrated amongst her peers.
This year could change that but, even as Keke Palmer becomes well-known in more and more households across the globe, she is still a human who deserves her privacy, and I’m glad she shared her experience to remind everyone to respect the boundaries people set for themselves.
If you want to check out the actress (in a socially appropriate way), you can catch her in Lightyear, which is scheduled for a theatrical release June 17, and in Nope on July 22. Be sure to check out our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what’s coming up in the meantime!