“I hated it…It didn’t deserve a place in the center,” Keke Palmer said of the widespread attention her ex-relationship gained.
Keke Palmer enjoys being known for a lot of things, but not her relationship. In a recent interview with The Cut, the multihyphenate star opened up about her breakup and the viral moment with ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson that took over the internet.
In 2024, Palmer’s relationship became the center of social media discourse after her then-boyfriend publicly criticized the star’s wardrobe choices, claiming her outfit was “inappropriate” for a mother to wear. Shortly after fans came to Palmer’s defense, rumors of domestic violence and a custody battle for the former couple’s son Leo began to swirl. In November, the actress was granted a domestic violence restraining order against Jackson and sole custody of their now one-year-old son.
At the time, Palmer’s custody battle and relationship experience put her at the forefront of discussions surrounding domestic violence and abuse. And while the public viewed her as its new spokesperson, Palmer says she grappled uncomfortably with the idea.
“There’s a sensationalization that happens with that word. But there really are often no other words to describe such a toxic dynamic,” she said, explaining how she spent years making excuses for Jackson’s behavior. “You can make so many excuses for behavior that could have stopped.”
Additionally, the actress, who has been in the entertainment industry since she was a child, revealed how much she “hated” the media attention surrounding her relationship.
“It was my personal junk. It didn’t deserve a place in the center of something that I worked very hard to make encouraging and empowering,” she shared. “When it was happening, it was horrible because I could not get to the message of the story in real-time. Now, I’m able to articulate it, and I’m able to say what the story will be.”
Just as she attributes her son Leo’s birth to her body transformation, she credits him for her mental transformation. For Palmer, Leo’s arrival was a major turning point in her decision to leave Jackson “before it had the chance of becoming something that I had to survive.”
Now separated from Jackson with a reportedly peaceful co-parenting system, Palmer is able to direct her attention to her many endeavors, such as her upcoming film, “One of Them Days,” which is set to premiere on Jan. 21.
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