KeKe Palmer Shares Emotional Story of Becoming Family Breadwinner at 12, Recalls Ice Cube’s Advice on ‘Club Shay Shay’ | Watch

KeKe Palmer on Club Shay Shay
KeKe Palmer on Club Shay Shay/YouTube screenshot

*KeKe Palmer got emotional during her appearance on Club Shay Shay as she discussed the challenges of becoming her family’s primary breadwinner at age 12.

Palmer, who shot to fame at just 10 years old after starring in “Barbershop 2: Back in Business,” reflected on the challenges of supporting her loved ones while navigating her early career.

“My parents at best made $40,000 a year when I was growing up. I was making that [per] show,” the 31-year-old actress said, Vibe reports. 

Palmer explained that her parents had access to her money and would “ration her out an allowance,” and give some of the funds to her sister. “Somebody could say, ‘that was your money,’ but we a family,” she added. “And everybody sacrificed.”

She continued, “How I feel about it—what’s mine is theirs and what’s theirs is mine. And I would give up and sacrifice 20 more years of my life working in this industry so I could provide and we could have the business we have today.”

YouTube video

Palmer explained that her father forfeited his pension after 15 years of work and her mother sacrificed her aspirations to accompany her on her travels.

“How I feel about it—what’s mine is theirs and what’s theirs is mine,” she said. “And I would give up and sacrifice 20 more years of my life working in this industry so I could provide and we could have the business we have today.”

The “Nope” star later noted: “Life is a lonely place.”

She continued, “And when you have your family … if you’re the one then you’re the one. That’s it. That’s the way it was. And now my sister can go to FAMU. For all of us, we get to do things that we were never able to do.” 

Elsewhere in her conversation with Shannon, KeKe revealed the advice Ice Cube gave her when she starred alongside him in the 2008 sports comedy “The Longshots.”

“He didn’t say too much — a man of few words. But very nice, and one day they were like, ‘Ice Cube wants to speak to you,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay …’ ” she told Sharpe.

“He’s like, ‘I just want to tell you, Keke. You’re a beautiful young lady, and I see how kind you are and how nice you are to everybody on the set. But I want you to know you’re growing into a young woman, and a lot of times the way that people see you — the way that these men see you on set — it’s not the way that you see yourself,’” Palmer recalled Ice Cube telling her.

The former rapper told KeKe to “protect yourself, be careful and don’t let them take advantage of you. Know who you are and know what you have so people can’t use it against you.”

Palmer said his message was something that “stuck with me.”

“And it was so important, I think, for him to say something like that to me,” she added. “He’s a father. He’s someone who has seen a lot in this industry, especially with young entertainers. I always remember that, and I was always so grateful to him for that. I haven’t seen him since, but I would love to tell him that really stuck with me all these years and thank you for reminding me.”

READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Keke Palmer Trolls Shannon Sharpe Over His Viral Sex Tape | Video

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