Keke Palmer stopped by the LA Times to continue her book promotion, and her candor during these press stops continues to shock fans and ruffle feathers in Hollywood.
It’s standard procedure for celebrities to write memoirs that barely scratch the surface. But Keke Palmer decided to go the exact opposite direction when she was working on her book. Journalists who read the book prior to its release initially focused on her story of dating a 20-year-old when she was just 15. Now, however, the buzz has shifted to her time on the set of Ryan Murphy’s short-lived series Scream Queens.
Keke Palmer revealed in the book that she took issue with how Ryan Murphy spoke to her regarding a miscommunication about her schedule. On a day that had been previously scheduled as an off day for Palmer, she had arranged other business commitments. But in her book, she writes that Murphy seemingly had a change of heart and ordered her to come to set regardless of their prior agreement.
When asked about the excerpt, Palmer compared that period to being “summoned to the dean’s office.” Palmer shared that Murphy “ripped into” her, calling her unprofessional and expressing that he expected better from an actor of her caliber. For Palmer, this situation was an opportunity to assert that her time is valuable and that she isn’t beholden to anyone’s disorganization. On that fateful day, despite any potential consequences, Palmer chose to fulfill her prior commitments and ignore Murphy’s tantrums, and she offered this perspective:
“I’m still not sure Ryan cared, or got it, and that’s okay because he was just centering his business, which isn’t a problem to me. But what I do know is, even if he didn’t care, and even if I never work with him again, he knows that I, too, see myself as a business.”
Furthermore, that wasn’t even where the drama on the Scream Queens set ended. Palmer shared another less-than-savory situation from that same set. Most fans may not realize this, but film sets are high-pressure environments where everyone’s nerves are heightened due to how high-stakes and expensive filming even a single scene can be, sometimes leading to conflict. This is expected. What is not expected, however, is using that tension as an excuse for racism.
Yet that is exactly what a co-star chose to do to Palmer on the Scream Queens set when she attempted to calm a conflict on set. And while Palmer names many people she’s interacted with in show business throughout the book, in this instance, she chose to give the transgressor the pseudonym “Brenda.” Palmer explained that if she had shared this person’s real name, that detail would become the focus of the conversation. For Palmer, omitting the name was also a way to deny her transgressor’s words any power. Considering how, when Rebecca Ferguson shared a horror story of being screamed at on set, the conversation quickly turned to “who” screamed at her instead of why people shouldn’t do that, Palmer’s approach makes sense. We have to agree with her on this.
Palmer has clearly, time and time again, demonstrated her talent, but with this book, she seems to be on a different journey altogether. Keke Palmer appears ready to accept nothing less than respect in her line of work. And for someone who has nearly two decades of experience, it’s about time her colleagues view her as more than someone they’re merely “doing a favor” by working with.