*Years after she starred in Nickelodeon’s hit show “True Jackson, VP,” Keke Palmer is sharing her thoughts on the “inappropriate” relationship she had with an older man as a teenager filming the series.
Referencing an interview Palmer did with People, The Independent reports the entertainer touched on the relationship while speaking about toxic relationships she experienced. Although she professionally thrived with “True Jackson,” it was another story personally for Palmer, who felt dating an older guy was the way to go with her success.
“I had a great time doing True Jackson VP, but it was also a very stressful, difficult, depressive time,” the 31-year-old actor recalled while highlighting the controversial situation.
“I was 15, he was 20. I was trying to balance between being really young, but also feeling quite mature. If I thought it was inappropriate, then I wouldn’t have done it.”
“Obviously, I shouldn’t have been 15 dating no 20-year-old,” Palmer continued. “But in my mind, it was like ‘I got a full-time job… Can’t nobody understand me but a grown man.’ But he knew there was a lot of stuff that there’s no d*** way for me to understand at d*** 15.”
As the interview continued, Palmer opened up more, admitting that she hid her relationship from her loved ones until she was 20. Looking back on its five-year stent, the “Nope” star stated it had a lasting impact on her in a negative way.
“I wasn’t mentally able to process and understand things that would’ve made that relationship appropriate,” Palmer told People. “The power dynamic put me in a place that harmed me in ways I couldn’t have known. I didn’t have the language or the strength to accept that who he met was a child, not the woman I wanted to become.”
With any life situation, lessons are learned. Palmer is no exception as her relationship with the older guy ultimately brought her understanding as far as what a real, healthy relationship looked like.
“It wasn’t until I was a real grown woman, and even then we know we’ve still got more time to grow. But by 26, 27, 28, I had finally experienced, I think, genuine love,” she said, crediting her ex-husband Darius Jackson with the change in her view. “Not that I didn’t love that [other] person, but it wasn’t until I’d felt what it was like for someone to love me back and to give me respect, that I realized that relationship was wrong.”
Although her interaction with Jackson was enlightening, their relationship ran its course with divorce amid navigating troubling waters internally.
As noted by The Independent, Palmer and Jackson got off to a promising start once they started dating after meeting at a Memorial Day party in May 2021. Their relationship produced Palmer’s first child, a son named Leodis “Leo” Andrellton, in February 2023.
From there, things spiraled downward with Jackson publicly shaming in July of that year on social media for wearing a sheer dress to Usher’s Las Vegas residency show. Palmer fired back in November 2023, alleging multiple incidents resulting in physical abuse. A temporary restraining order against Jackson was granted to Palmer, who also received temporary sole custody of their son.
The custody battle was flipped In December when Jackson filed his restraining order against Palmer, alleging she “engaged in abusive conduct during their two-and-a-half-year relationship.”
The situation was ultimately resolved when Jackson and Palmer reached an amicable agreement for joint custody of Leo after court-ordered mediation.
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