Keke Palmer stepped up to the challenge when it came to giving her standpoint on colorism in Hollywood.
The 28-year-old actress was recently the center of a now-viral tweet that questioned her career similarities and accomplishments to fellow child star, Zendaya.
Keke Palmer started her career young, most notably as Akeelah in Akeelah and the Bee and as the lead on the Nickelodeon show True Jackson, VP.
Similarly, Zendaya costarred on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up and played the title character on the Disney Channel series K.C. Undercover as a young teenager.
Now, the two actresses have blossomed into their own successful careers, which include Emmy-winning Zendaya starring in the hit HBO Max series Euphoria and Keke breaking bounds in Jordan Peele’s latest horror film Nope.
The tweet, which showcased the two actresses side by side, was sent out by Twitter user @NBAGladiator over the weekend.
Keke Palmer’s response to being compared to Zendaya
The tweet received much attention off the bat, seemingly due to the suggestive push for fans of the actresses to compare their careers side by side.
“I’d like someone to do a deep-drive on the similarities and differences between Keke Palmer and Zendaya’s careers,” the tweet first stated. “This may be one of the clearest examples of how colorism plays out in Hollywood. They were both child-stars, but their mainstream popularity is very different.”
However, perhaps the most important response came from half of the subject matter herself, Keke. She first and foremost addressed the original tweet by stating her own personal strides in terms of colorism.
“A great example of colorism is to believe I can be compared to anyone,” she wrote. “I’m the youngest talk show host ever. The first Black woman to star in her own show on Nickelodeon, & the youngest & first Black Cinderella on broadway. I’m an incomparable talent. Baby, THIS, is Keke Palmer.”
Keke continued her response with another follow-up tweet to solidify her standpoint.
“I’ve been a leading lady since I was 11 years old. I have over 100+ credits, and currently starring in an original screenplay that’s the number one film at the box office #NOPE. I’ve had a blessed career thus far, I couldn’t ask for more but God continues to surprise me,” she said.
Keke Palmer’s success in Jordan Peele’s latest film
When it comes to Keke’s successful career at 28 years old, she has most recently made a stamp on the film industry in the new horror film, Nope.
Nope, directed by Jordan Peele, was released in theaters last weekend and has broken the record for most earnings of a film with an original screenplay since his previous movie, Us.
The Get Out director chose actress Keke Palmer to star in the film alongside actor Daniel Kaluuya. Keke has since received rave reviews for portraying her quirky yet heartfelt character Emerald Haywood in the sci-fi horror flick.
In an interview with IMDB, Jordan said that he only had Keke in mind to play the character of Emerald. “I was able to really write the movie knowing Keke’s take on it in some way, which is truly magical,” he said.
Jordan and Keke first met on Jordan’s comedy sketch show, Key & Peele. Jordan recalled meeting Keke and knowing he wanted to continue working with her.
“When I first met Keke, she came in, and she crushed it. And I just remember at that time, thinking what many of us already knew from her work… there’s something different, there’s a different kind-of precision, spirit, and ability there,” he said.
“You don’t know if Keke’s gonna be who you think she is, but she’s that,” he continued. “And more.”